China is sending a probe to obtain samples from the less explored other side of the Moon

Taipei, Taiwan — China is preparing to launch a lunar probe on Friday that would land on the far side of the Moon and return with samples that could provide information about geological and other differences between the less explored region and the better-known near side.

The unprecedented mission would be the latest advancement in the increasingly sophisticated and ambitious space exploration program that now competes with the United States, still a leader in space. China already landed a rover on the far side of the Moon in 2019, the first country to do so.

Free from Earth exposure and other interference, the far side of the Moon is ideal for radio astronomy and other scientific work. Since the other side never faces Earth, a relay satellite is needed to maintain communications.

The Chang’e lunar exploration probe is named after the mythical Chinese moon goddess.

The probe is being carried on a Long March-5 YB rocket with liftoff on Friday night from the Wenchang launch center in the southern tropical island province of Hainan, the China National Space Administration announced. The launch window is 5pm to 6pm with a target of 5:27pm

China in 2020 returned samples from the near side of the Moon, the first time anyone had done so since the US Apollo program, which ended in the 1970s. Analysis of the samples found they contained water in small spheres embedded in lunar dirt.

Also last week, three Chinese astronauts returned home after a six-month mission on the country’s orbiting space station, following the arrival of their replacement crew.

China built its own space station after being excluded from the International Space Station, largely due to US concerns about the Chinese military’s total control of the space program, amid increasing technology competition between the two. geopolitical rivals. US law prohibits almost all cooperation between US and Chinese space programs without explicit congressional approval.

China’s ambitious space program aims to land astronauts on the Moon by 2030, as well as bring back samples from Mars around the same year and launch three lunar probe missions over the next four years. The next one is scheduled for 2027.

Long-term plans call for a permanent manned base on the lunar surface, although they appear to remain in the conceptual phase.

China conducted its first manned space mission in 2003, becoming the third country, after the former Soviet Union and the USA, to put a person in space using its own resources.

The three-module Tiangong, much smaller than the ISS, was launched in 2021 and completed 18 months later. It can accommodate up to six astronauts at the same time and is mainly dedicated to scientific research. The crew will also install space debris protection equipment, perform payload experiments and broadcast science lessons to students on Earth.

China also said it eventually plans to offer access to its space station to foreign astronauts and space tourists. With the ISS approaching the end of its useful life, China could eventually be the only country or company to maintain a manned station in orbit.

It is believed that the US space program still maintains a significant advantage over China’s due to its spending, supply chains and capabilities.

The US aims to put a crew back on the lunar surface by the end of 2025, as part of a renewed commitment to crewed missions, helped by private sector players such as SpaceX and Blue Origin. They plan to land at the Moon’s south pole, where permanently shadowed craters are believed to be filled with frozen water.