2024-05-12 18:34:45
China launched this Friday, May 3, 2024, a mission to collect samples from the far side of the Moon, a milestone that is part of an ambitious space program aimed at carrying a manned mission to the satellite by 2030.
The rocket took off from the Wenchang Space Launch Center in Hainan province, southern China, just before 5:30 p.m. (09:30 GMT), several international media reported.
The mission is the latest step in China’s ambitious space program which, according to the United States, is used to cover military objectives and is an attempt to establish its dominance in the Cosmos.
The goal of the Chang’e-6 probe is to collect about two kilos of material from the far side of the Moon and bring it back to Earth for analysis.
The state agency Xinhua called the launch “the first attempt of its kind in the history of Moon exploration.”
It is a technically complex 53-day mission that seeks an unprecedented feat, achieving the takeoff of a device from that part of the Moon that is never visible from Earth.
“Chang’e-6 will collect samples from the far side of the Moon for the first time,” Ge Ping, vice director of the China Lunar Exploration and Space Engineering Center, told reporters.
The ship must land in the immense Aitken Basin, one of the largest known impact craters in the solar system, located at the South Pole.
Once there, it will collect soil and rock samples, and conduct other experiments on the landing zone. Finally, the probe must take off from the Moon and return to Earth.
Under President Xi Jinping, China has promoted its “space dream.” In the last decade it has allocated enormous resources to this program and has set ambitious objectives to close the gap with the two established powers in this field, the United States and Russia.
The Asian giant has made notable progress: the construction of the Tiangong (Celestial Palace) space station, the landing of robotic rovers on Mars and it became the third country to take astronauts into space.
By 2030, China wants to send a manned mission to the Moon and also plans to build a base on the Earth’s satellite.