China's Chang'e-6 lands on Earth with rocks, soil from Moon's far side

The mission builds upon the success of China's Chang'e-4 lander and rover, which became the first to land on the lunar far side in 2019.

Chang'e-6 is targeting a landing in the South Pole-Aitken (SPA) basin, an ancient and massive impact crater on the lunar far side.

Once the optimal orbital parameters are achieved, the mission will proceed to the next phase - the separation of the orbiter-returner combination from the lander-ascender module.

China welcomes countries and international organisations on its uncrewed Chang'e-8 mission and to jointly carry out "mission-level" projects, the China National Space Administration (CNSA) said.

The landing elevates China's space power status in a global rush to the Moon. China landed an uncrewed spacecraft on the far side of the Moon on Sunday, a...

The ascender module of China's Chang'e-6 probe rendezvoused and docked with the orbiter-returner combination in lunar orbit last week.

The Chang'e-6 mission, with the launch scheduled for around 2024, is tasked with bringing back samples from the far side of the moon.

China is working on the ambitious Chang'e-6 and Chang'e-7 missions, which will pave the way for the human landing on the Moon.

The lunar landing mission is part of China's broader space exploration program, which includes the Chang'e Project, named after the Chinese Moon goddess.

The overall goal is to achieve China's first manned landing on the moon by 2030 and carry out lunar scientific exploration and related technological experiments, he was quoted as saying by the state-run Xinhua news agency.