Chang’e-6

June 25, 2024 1:16 PM

China’s Chang’e-6 moon probe lands back on Earth

China's Chang'e-6 lunar probe landed on Tuesday in the northern Chinese region of Inner Mongolia, making the country the first to bring back samples from the moon's far side. The reentry capsule touched down at 2:07 p.m. Beijing time (0607 GMT), according to state broadcaster CCTV, carrying lunar soil collected earlier in the month by the probe after a successful landing on the moon's South Pole-Aitken Basin, an impact crater on the side of the Moon that always faces away from Earth. Soon afte...

June 6, 2024 3:32 PM

China’s Chang’e-6 transfers moon samples to spacecraft, set for return to Earth

China's Chang'e-6 probe transferred samples it collected from the moon's far side to a spacecraft in lunar orbit on Thursday, state news agency Xinhua reported. After receiving the samples, the uncrewed spacecraft will fly back to Earth, with an expected landing in China's Inner Mongolia region on June 25. If successful, China will be the first country to ever return lunar matter from the side of the moon that permanently faces away from Earth. The Chang'e-6 probe took off from the moon's far ...

June 4, 2024 4:55 PM

Carrying lunar rocks, Chinese probe lifts off from far side of moon

China's Chang'e-6 probe has lifted off from the far side of the moon, starting its journey back towards Earth, China's national space agency announced on Tuesday. The probe's successful departure from the moon means China is closer to becoming the first country to return samples from the far side of the moon, which permanently faces away from Earth. The probe, which departed the moon at 7:38 am local time (2338 GMT) successfully completed its sample collection from June 2-3. China National Sp...

WENCHANG, CHINA - MAY 03 2024: China's Chang'e-6 lunar mission rocket prepares to lift off from the Wenchang Satellite Launch Center in south China's Hainan province. The mission aims to collect the first ever samples from the far side of the moon. (Photo credit should read Feature China/Future Publishing via Getty Images)

June 3, 2024 11:09 AM

China’s lunar probe could return with answer to origins of solar system

China's Chang'e-6 lunar probe looks set to begin its historic journey back to Earth from the moon's far side after collecting samples that scientists expect will help answer key questions about the early evolution of the solar system. Chang'e-6, named after the mythical Chinese moon goddess, was launched on May 3 from the southern Chinese island province of Hainan. The fully robotic probe landed on Sunday in a previously unexplored location in a gigantic impact crater called the South-Pole Ait...