China’s Chang’e-6 spacecraft has made history by returning to Earth with moon rock samples from the lunar far side. The uncrewed mission, which lasted over 50 days, landed in northern China’s Inner Mongolia. This marks the first time in history that samples have been returned from the portion of the moon facing away from Earth.
The Chang’e-6 mission faced significant challenges due to the moon blocking communication between people on Earth and the far side. However, China overcame this by placing a communication relay satellite about 40,000 miles beyond the moon to exchange signals.
The rocks and dust brought back by the Chang’e-6 may help solve enduring mysteries about the moon’s interior composition. The spacecraft carried instruments from France, Italy, Pakistan, and the European Space Agency, despite the United States prohibiting NASA from collaborating with China on space missions or having scientific exchanges.
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