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China is expected to launch its next robot lunar lander in 2024, with Chang’e-6 collecting samples near the lunar south pole before returning to Earth.
- The samples, collected from the unexplored far side of the moon, were handed over to the Chinese Academy of Sciences on Friday
Scientists from around the world are welcome to study samples from the far side of the moon brought back by Chang’e-6 probe, officials say.
Re-entry capsule touches down safely in Inner Mongolia with the first samples ever retrieved from the moon’s rough, mysterious side.
The Chang’e-6 mission’s cargo is expected to yield a wealth of research but debate is growing about what language it will be published in first.
The autonomous four-wheeled mini-rover is ‘a testament’ to the software team’s breakthroughs in artificial intelligence, state media said.
China’s space authority says the ascent vehicle left the lunar surface at 7.38am with around 2kg of specimens.
Probe lands on the South Pole-Aitken basin and will start collecting the first samples from this part of the moon.
Chinese spacecraft begins 53-day journey to collect soil and rocks and bring them back to Earth for scientific study.
Queqiao-2 communication relay satellite arrived 440km above the moon’s surface early on Monday, says CNSA; state media says ‘work is under way to address’ DRO-A/B satellites that failed to reach their designated altitude after March 13 launch.
About 70 launches will be conducted by CASC and others will be commercial launches, according to annual blue book.
Geopolitical rivals take competition to celestial heights, with satellite positioning and control of ideal routes between Earth and the moon at stake.
It may be a good idea to test out propulsion and lander technologies first in space, author and space policy expert at Arizona State University says.
Chang’e 6, the next mission in China’s moon programme, should launch in 2024. It will carry science payloads and satellites, and return more moon rocks to Earth.
Robotic probe was the first in a series of Russian missions planned as part of ILRS project but spun out of control and collided with the lunar surface on Saturday.
Volcanic eruptions may explain 2-billion-year-old lava rocks retrieved from the lunar surface during China’s Chang’e 5 mission.
Using lunar soil as a catalyst, scientists hope to test a life-support system for astronauts in space.
Space official says scientists will look at near-Earth asteroids over the next few years and aim for the most threatening.
Wu Weiren said the next phase of the Chang’e lunar project aims to launch a spacecraft to begin surveying the south pole within 2 years