The Long March-5 rocket lifted off at 5:27 p. m. (0927 GMT) from the Wenchang Space Launch Center in the southern island province of Hainan on Friday with a probe weighing more than 8 tons.
The launch marks a new milestone in China’s moon and exploration program.
“Collecting and returning samples of the moon’s appearance is an unprecedented feat,” Wu Weiren, lead designer of the country’s lunar exploration program, told the official Xinhua news agency.
Chang’e-6 is named after the Chinese goddess of the moon.
“We know very little about the far side of the Moon. If the Chang’e-6 project succeeds, it will provide scientists with the first direct evidence to perceive the surroundings and composition of the far side of the Moon. which is wonderfully important,” he said.
Like its predecessor Chang’e-5, Chang’e-6 includes an orbiter, lander and ascender, as well as a mechanism for returning to Earth, according to Xinhua.
The South Pole’s Aitken basin, where Chang’e-6 is expected to land, is located on the far side of the Moon, which remains a mystery because it is oriented toward Earth.
In 2018, Chang’e-4 allowed China to make its first unmanned moon landing, also on the side.
In 2020, Chang’e-5 marked the first time humans took lunar samples in 44 years, and Chang’e-6 may make China the first country to obtain samples from the “far side” of the Moon.
The release took place in the presence of scientists, diplomats and officials from the space agencies of France, Italy, Pakistan and the European Space Agency (ESA), all of which have payloads to the Moon aboard Chang’e-6.
But no U. S. organization has taken steps to get a payload location, according to Ge Ping, deputy director of the China National Space Administration’s (CNSA) Lunar and Space Exploration Program.
U. S. law prohibits China from collaborating with the U. S. space agency NASA without congressional approval.
Once the probe separates from the rocket, it will take about 4 to 5 days to reach lunar orbit. It is expected to land on the Moon in early June.
Once landed, the probe will spend two days digging up 2 kg (4. 4 pounds) of samples. Once they’re sealed in a container, you’ll return to the adventure back to Earth.
Chang’e-6 is expected to land in northern China’s Inner Mongolia in a few days, the CNSA said.
“The samples collected using Chang’e-6 will have a geological age of about 4 billion years,” Ge told reporters.
In addition to revealing new data about the closest celestial system to Earth, Chang’e-6 is part of a long-term task to build a permanent station on the Moon: the International Lunar Research Station (ILRS) that runs through China and Russia.
China’s program aims to send astronauts to the moon by 2030, bring back samples from Mars, and launch 3 lunar probe missions in the next 4 years. The next one is scheduled for 2027.