China prepares to take samples on the dark side of the Moon

On April 29, China said that its Chang'e-6 spacecraft is preparing to make a round trip to the dark side of the Moon.

This is the first of three highly technical missions launched over the next four years, aiming to pave the way for China's first crewed landing in 2030 and the construction of a base on the South Pole. Moon.

The Chang'e-6 lunar probe and the Long March-5 Y8 booster rocket complex are prepared at the Wenchang Space Launch Site, Hainan province (China).

Since the first Chang'e mission in 2007, China has made giant leaps in lunar exploration, narrowing the technology gap with the US and Russia.

Chief designer of China's lunar exploration program Wu Weiren said the Chang'e-6 spacecraft was launched to carry out a mission to take samples on the dark side of the Moon and bring them back to Earth. This is an important task in the construction phase of the International Lunar Research Station.

Chang'e-6's sampling could also shed more light on the early evolution of the Moon and solar system. Chang'e-6, after successful landing, will collect about 2kg of samples using excavators and drills. If successful, the Chang'e-6 mission will be an important milestone for China's space research program.

After that, the Chang'e-7 spacecraft will be launched around 2026, conducting resource and environmental exploration at the Moon's south pole.

The Chang'e-8 spacecraft will be launched around 2028 to conduct experiments on the in situ use of lunar resources.

Mr. Ngo Vi Nhan also revealed that China plans to launch the Thien Van-2 mission around 2025, to conduct an exploratory flight and bring back samples from a small asteroid located about 100 meters from Earth. 40 million km. Around 2030, Thien Van-3 is expected to be launched to carry out a mission to bring back samples from Mars.

Mr. Ngo Vi Nhan commented that with the current progress of countries around the world, China may be the first country to bring samples from Mars back to Earth.