China lands a probe on the dark side of the Moon for the first time in history

Employees of the Beijing Aerospace Flight Control Center observe the landing of the probe Author: AP

The Chinese lunar probe Chang'e-6 successfully landed on its return flight side of the moon to collect samples, state news agency Xinhua reported on Sunday — the latest step in Beijing's decades-long space program.

Chang'e 6 landed in the vast South Pole-Aitken basin, one of the largest known impact craters in the solar system, Xinhua reported, citing the China National Space Administration.

According to the agency, this is the first time samples will be collected from a rarely explored region of the Moon.

Chang'e 6 is on a technically challenging 53-day mission that began on May 3.

Now that the probe has landed, it will try to collect lunar soil and rocks and conduct other experiments in the landing zone.

This process should be completed within two days, Xinhua reports. The probe will use two collection methods: a drill to collect samples below the surface and a robotic arm to grab samples from the surface.

The Chang'e-6 lunar probe was launched on May 3. Photo: REUTERS

Then he must try to make an unprecedented launch from the side of the Moon, which always faces away from Earth.

Scientists say the Moon is the dark side, so named because it is invisible from Earth, not because it never catches the sun's rays, represents great prospects for research, since its craters are less covered with ancient lava flows than the near side.

Material collected from the dark side can better shed light on how the Moon was formed in the first place.

Material collected from the dark side can better shed light on how the Moon was formed in the first place.

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Plans for China's «space dream» have been put into operation under President Xi Jinping.

US: China uses space program for military purposes

Over the past decade, Beijing has poured enormous resources into its space program, targeting a number of ambitious endeavors in an attempt to to close the gap with the two traditional space powers, the United States and Russia.

He achieved several notable achievements, including the construction of a space station called Tiangong, or «sky palace.»

Beijing landed robotic rovers on Mars and the Moon, and China became only the third country to put humans into orbit on its own.

But Washington warned that China's space program is being used to disguise military goals and attempts to establish dominance in space.< /p>

China aims to send a manned mission to the Moon by 2030 and plans to build a base on the lunar surface.

The United States also plans to return astronauts to the Moon by 2026 with the Artemis 3 mission.