China's spacecraft carrying rocks from the far side of the moon leaves the lunar surface
The Hindu
China's Chang'e-6 probe collects moon samples from the far side, aiming to land astronauts on the moon before 2030
China says a spacecraft carrying rock and soil samples from the far side of the moon has lifted off from the lunar surface to start its journey back to Earth.
The ascender of the Chang’e-6 probe lifted off on June 4 morning Beijing time and entered a preset orbit around the moon, the China National Space Administration said.
The Chang’e-6 probe was launched last month and its lander touched down on the far side of the moon on June 2.
Xinhua News Agency cited the space agency as saying the spacecraft stowed the samples it had gathered in a container inside the ascender of the probe as planned.
The container will be transferred to a reentry capsule that is due to return to Earth in the deserts of China’s Inner Mongolia region about June 25.
Missions to the moon’s far side are more difficult because it doesn’t face the Earth, requiring a relay satellite to maintain communications. The terrain is also more rugged, with fewer flat areas to land.
Xinhua said the probe's landing site was the South Pole-Aitken Basin, an impact crater created more than 4 billion years ago that is 13 kilometers (8 miles) deep and has a diameter of 2,500 kilometers (1,500 miles).
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