It will be the 2nd visit to the “dark side” of the satellite, the side that is not visible from Earth; India was the first to explore the region
The China National Space Administration launched this Friday (May 3, 2024) an unmanned mission to collect rock and soil samples on the south side of the Moon. Chang’e-6 It is expected to last 53 days.
The Long March-5 rocket took off at 5:27 pm (6:27 am Brasília time) from the Wenchang Space Launch Center, on the island of Hainan, in the south of the country. It is the largest ever built in the Asian country. The information is from Reuters.
The main objective of China’s mission is to explore the hidden side of the Moon, a pole that is not visible from Earth and which has already been visited by an expedition led by India in 2023. The probes’ communication will be done through retrotransmitter satellites, which will enable the contact with scientists.
This is the 2nd time that the Chinese agency has collected lunar samples. In 2020, it promoted a mission to study rocks on the north side of the Moon.
The operation is part of the country’s project to build a permanent research base on the Moon in conjunction with Russia.
Mission commander Zhang Zuosheng celebrated the launch. “I declare that this launch mission was a complete success”he stated.
Source: https://www.poder360.com.br/poder-tech/china-lanca-1a-missao-para-coletar-rochas-no-lado-oculto-da-lua/
