China’s Chang’e-6 lunar module made a successful return to Earth on June 25, marking a historic milestone in the country’s space program with the first-ever samples collected from the moon’s far side, advancing China’s position in the global space race.
The module landed safely in a designated area in northern Inner Mongolia around 2 p.m. local time, according to state broadcaster CCTV. A live broadcast showed the module touching down via parachute, greeted with applause in the mission control room.
“The Chang’e-6 lunar exploration mission has been a complete success,” announced Zhang Kejian, head of the China National Space Administration (CNSA), from the control room. A search team quickly located the module, which rested on grassland next to a Chinese flag. Initial checks were promptly conducted on the module, as shown in the CCTV livestream.
China aims to become leading space power
The successful mission is a crucial step towards China’s goal to become a leading space power, a vision often referred to as the “eternal dream” by Chinese President Xi Jinping. This effort coincides with increased lunar exploration activities by several countries, including the United States.
President Xi hailed the mission as “another landmark achievement in building a strong country in space, and science and technology.” Beijing aims to send astronauts to the moon by 2030 and establish a research base at the lunar south pole, a region thought to contain water ice, which the U.S. also targets for a lunar base.
The Chang’e-6 probe is expected to have returned with up to 2 kilograms of moon dust and rocks from the lunar far side. These samples will first be analyzed by Chinese researchers before being shared with international scientists, according to the CNSA.
Earlier in June, the Chang’e-6 probe was seen raising a Chinese flag with a robotic arm on the moon’s far side. The mission has been closely followed within China since its launch on May 3. Images of the lunar lander displaying the Chinese flag and possibly drilling the character “zhong” (shorthand for China) on the lunar surface went viral on Chinese social media.
The mission’s success came amid reports of suspected debris from a different Chinese rocket falling in southwest China, causing bright yellow smoke and panic among villagers, according to videos on Chinese social media.
Significance of far side samples
The far side of the moon has fascinated scientists since the Soviet Union’s Luna 3 spacecraft captured grainy images of it in 1959. Unlike the near side, which features large, dark plains of cooled lava, the far side is heavily cratered, offering a unique geological record.
The samples collected by Chang’e-6 from the South Pole-Aitken basin, an ancient impact crater, may help scientists understand the moon’s evolution, the Earth, and the solar system.
“It’s a gold mine … a treasure chest,” said James Head, a planetary geosciences professor at Brown University. He emphasized the excitement among international scientists about the mission.
The moon’s surface, unaffected by plate tectonics, preserves a frozen record of the early solar system. Studying it could not only enhance our understanding of the past but also aid future space exploration.
Future lunar exploration and international collaboration
While the primary focus of the Chang’e-6 mission is scientific, experts believe the analysis of the samples could advance efforts to utilize lunar resources for future exploration.
“The lunar soils collected from the mission can support future resource utilization,” said Yuqi Qian, a planetary geologist at the University of Hong Kong.
Lunar soil could potentially be used for 3-D printing bricks for construction on the moon, and extracting gases like Helium-3, oxygen, and hydrogen from the soil could support further lunar missions.
Once the samples are analyzed, Chinese scientists plan to share data and conduct joint research with international partners before opening the samples for access by global teams.
Global space race
Chang’e-6 is the sixth of eight planned missions in the Chang’e series, playing a crucial role in China’s goal to send astronauts to the moon.
China’s lunar ambitions came as the U.S. plans to launch its crewed Artemis mission as early as 2026. NASA chief Bill Nelson indicated that the competition with China is driving U.S. progress in space exploration.
China emphasized that its space exploration efforts are meant to benefit all mankind and actively seeks international collaboration. Alongside the U.S., other countries like India, Russia, and Japan are also making strides in lunar exploration, underscoring the growing global interest in the moon’s scientific and strategic potential.
Looking ahead, China plans to launch the Chang’e-7 mission to the lunar south pole in 2026 and the Chang’e-8 mission in 2028, aimed at testing lunar resource utilization in preparation for a lunar research station.