By Eduardo Baptista and Liz Lee
BEIJING (Reuters) – China’s Chang’e-6 probe has lifted off from the far side of the Moon and started its return journey to Earth, China’s national space agency said on Tuesday.
The probe’s successful departure from the Moon means China is set to become the first country to return samples from the far side of the Moon, which permanently faces away from Earth.
The probe, which left the Moon at 7:38 a.m. local time (11:38 p.m. GMT), successfully completed its sample collection on June 2 and 3.
The China National Space Administration (CNSA) said in a statement that Chang’e-6 “withstood the high temperature test on the far side of the Moon.”
Compared to its predecessor Chang’e-5, which collected samples from the near side of the Moon, Chang’e-6 faced an additional technical challenge: operating without direct communication with ground stations on Earth, according to the CNSA.
Instead, the probe relied on the Queqiao-2 relay satellite, put into orbit in April, for communications.
The probe used a drill and a robotic arm to excavate soil on and below the surface of the Moon, according to the official Xinhua news agency.
Chang’e-6 displayed China’s national flag for the first time on the far side of the Moon after acquiring a sample, Beijing Daily reported.
The probe is now in lunar orbit and will join another spacecraft in orbit, the CNSA said Tuesday morning.
The samples will then be transferred to a return module, which will return to Earth, with a landing in China’s Inner Mongolia region planned around June 25.
The return of the lunar samples to Earth is being monitored by scientists around the world, who hope that the soil collected by Chang’e-6 can help answer questions about the origins of the solar system.
(Reporting by Eduardo Baptista, Liz Lee, Ryan Woo and Shanghai newsroom; editing by Jacqueline Wong and Gerry Doyle)
