2024-06-25 08:21:43
After 53 days in house, the probe “Chang’e-6” has returned with rock samples from the far aspect of the moon. For China, the mission is a large success.
A capsule from the Chinese language spacecraft “Chang’e-6” has returned to Earth with rock samples from the far aspect of the moon. As dwell photographs from Chinese language state tv confirmed, the capsule landed within the steppe of Inside Mongolia within the afternoon (native time).
China final introduced rock samples from the moon to Earth in December 2020. Earlier than that, the USA and the Soviet Union had already succeeded in doing so within the Sixties and Seventies. For the primary time, nonetheless, samples from the far aspect of the moon had been on board, from which scientists hope to realize new insights into the historical past of the Earth’s satellite tv for pc.
The lander of the spacecraft “Chang’e-6”, named after the Chinese language moon goddess, landed on the moon on June 2 and subsequently collected rock samples.
Based mostly on the geological options of the touchdown web site within the moon’s South Pole-Aitken Basin (SPA), Chinese language researchers imagine that the samples returned will consist of two.5 billion-year-old volcanic rock. Traces of earlier meteorite impacts may additionally be included within the samples.
There are “important variations” between the Earth-facing and the Earth-facing sides of the moon by way of crust thickness, volcanic exercise and soil composition, writes Chinese language geologist Yue Zongyu of the Chinese language Academy of Sciences within the science journal “The Innovation”.
Samples containing traces of meteorites may finally present not solely details about the evolution of the moon, but in addition new insights into the formation of all the inside photo voltaic system, Yue defined.
With the return of the capsule to Earth, China is finishing its sixth lunar mission since 2007. Most not too long ago, “Chang’e-5” introduced samples from the entrance of the moon to Earth for examination in 2020. Earlier than that, in 2019, “Chang’e-4” was the primary rover to land on the far aspect of the moon and discover the terrain there.
Moon touchdown missions are thought-about extraordinarily tough. Within the latest previous, a number of lunar probes from India, Israel, Japan and Russia haven’t reached their vacation spot as deliberate.