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BEIJING, June 25 The Chinese Chang'e-6 spacecraft successfully landed at the Siziwanqi landing site in the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, delivering soil samples from the far side of the Moon to Earth for the first time in human history, broadcast by China Central Television.
The spacecraft was launched on May 3 2024 from the Wenchang Satellite Launch Center on Hainan Island using the Long March 5 Y8 launch vehicle. On June 2, the spacecraft landed in the planned area in the South Pole-Aitken basin, collected various soil samples in different areas, and took off from the surface of the Earth’s satellite on June 4.
As Ge Ping, deputy director of the Center for Lunar Exploration and Space Engineering of the Chinese National Space Administration, noted, scientists hope that within the framework of the Chang'e-6 mission they will be able to deliver soil samples about four billion years old.
The fourth stage of the Chinese lunar program began with the launch of the Queqiao-2 relay satellite in March 2024. It includes the launch of the Chang'e-6 probe, the Chang'e-7 mission to explore the South Pole of the Moon, including comprehensive sensing of the lunar relief, and the Chang'e-8 mission, within which, in addition to scientific research, it is planned to conduct key research on the lunar surface testing a number of technologies.
As previously reported to China Daily by a leading specialist of the Chinese National Space Directorate, Professor Wu Weiren, during the Chang'e-8 mission it is planned to study the possibilities of using 3D printing technology to build buildings on the Moon.
The chief designer of a special project within the framework of the Chinese deep space exploration program, Wu Yanhua, said that China plans The Chang'e-7 probe will launch approximately in 2026, and the Chang'e-8 launch is planned for 2028.