China probe first to return to Earth with samples from moon's far side

Officials recover the landing module of the Chang'e-6 lunar probe after it landed in Inner Mongolia, in northern China, on Tuesday. | AFP-JIJI

AFP
Jun 25, 2024

BEIJING – China's Chang'e-6 lunar probe landed on Tuesday in the northern Chinese region of Inner Mongolia, making the country the first to bring back samples from the moon's far side.

The reentry capsule touched down at 2:07 p.m. Beijing time, according to state broadcaster CCTV, carrying lunar soil collected earlier in the month by the probe after a successful landing on the moon's South Pole-Aitken Basin, an impact crater on the side of the moon that always faces away from Earth.

Soon after the capsule landed, Zhang Kejian, head of the China National Space Administration, announced the successful completion of the Chang'e-6 lunar mission. Chinese leader Xi Jinping said the mission's completion was a "landmark achievement" in China's quest to become a space and scientific powerhouse.