On Tuesday, a capsule carrying soil from the far side of the Moon will parachute into the desert in China’s Inner Mongolia region.
The sample, collected by the China National Space Administration’s Chang’e-6 lander, is expected to be the latest achievement in a series of near-perfect executions of Chinese lunar exploration missions since 2007.
Here’s what you need to know about the Chang’e-6 mission’s return to Earth.
When does the landing take place and how can I watch it?
The Chinese space agency has not yet confirmed the end date of the mission.
But according to NASA Goddard Space Flight CenterThe Chang’e-6 sample return capsule is scheduled to land at 1:41 a.m. Eastern Time, or 1:41 p.m. local time, in the Siziwang Banner region of Inner Mongolia, a region in northern China. China.
China Global Television Network, an international news channel owned by a Chinese public broadcaster, operates a live video stream before the scheduled landing time.
What is the hidden side of the Moon?
For starters, don’t call it the far side of the moon: it gets a lot of sunlight.
But when you look at the sky from Earth, you only see one side of the Moon, the near side. Its face is speckled with broad dark plains where ancient lava once flowed.
The dark side of the Moon – the hidden half for us on Earth – is different. There are fewer of these plains, more craters, and thicker crust, although scientists aren’t sure why.
It may not be a mystery for much longer. China has landed two missions there aimed at studying why it is so different from the near side.
What is China’s Chang’e Program?
Named after the Chinese moon goddess Chang’e (pronounced “chong-uh”), China’s lunar exploration program was originally conceived in three stages: orbit, landing, and sampling. The first two spacecraft, Chang’e-1 and 2, orbited the moon, taking images and mapping its surface. Chang’e-3 landed on the near side of the moon in 2013, and in 2019, Chang’e-4 did the same on the far side. Rovers from both missions then studied the lunar surface more closely.
A year later, Chang’e-5 landed and collected nearly four pounds of lunar regolith which was then launched to Earth. This mission made China the third country – after the United States and the Soviet Union – to recover a sample from the Moon.
What has happened so far during Chang’e-6?
Chang’e-6 launched on May 3 with even more ambitious projects: bringing back material from the far side of the Moon. Since this half never faces Earth, it is impossible to communicate directly with landers on the far side of the Moon, making it difficult to reach. The Chinese space agency used two moon-orbiting satellites, Queqiao and Queqiao-2, to stay in contact with Chang’e-6 during the mission.
The spacecraft spent a few weeks in lunar orbit, then landed on the moon in June. It descended to a site at the edge of the South Pole-Aitken Basin, the oldest and deepest impact crater on the Moon.
Equipped with a mechanical shovel and a drill, Chang’e-6 spent two days collecting lunar rocks and dust from its surroundings and the Moon’s subsoil. These samples were then hidden in the spacecraft. A small rover attached to the side of the spacecraft took a photo of the lander with a Chinese flag raised.
Then, on June 3, a rocket from the spacecraft took off, sending the samples into orbit around the Moon. The materials then returned to a spacecraft on June 6 that remained in orbit and was ready to begin the journey back to Earth.
On Tuesday, the sample container will attempt to re-enter the Earth’s atmosphere. If the mission is as successful as Chang’e-4, China will recover the materials and scientific research into their contents will begin.
