The latest phase of China's lunar exploration project is coming to an end soon. On June 20, the Chang'e 6 sample return mission will begin its journey back to Earth from the far side of the moon, having already collected samples and sent itself back into lunar orbit. But since a picture is worth a thousand words, let's take a look at some of the memorable photos that have emerged from this mission so far.
The China National Space Agency (CNSA) released up-close and personal photos of the Chang’e-6 lander/ascender system on June 14. These images were taken by a small, autonomous rover that hopped off the lander, drove to a suitable spot, framed a picture, and took a photo, all without input from its human overlords.
Weighing only 5 kilograms, this rover demonstrated what is possible for autonomous operations with relatively lightweight hardware. It also demonstrates an impressive amount of autonomy for a lunar rover, especially one that only operates on the “far” side of the moon.
Credit: CNSA
It wasn't the only observer who took an interesting picture of China's sixth mission, named after the Chinese moon goddess Chang'e. NASA's Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter took a picture of the orbiter from space and showed dramatic changes in the environment around it.
In the image, the lander itself appears as a bright white dot. However, the surrounding area also appears quite light. This was due to the blast radius of the lander's retrograde rockets, which were used for its soft landing. Those powerful rockets blew away dark lunar regolith that had been untouched for millions of years. This photo was taken on June 7, when the Chang'e-6 ascent vehicle launched back from the surface and met up with the orbiter that will take the samples it collected back to Earth. While doing so, it probably blew away a lot of material with its own ascent rockets.
During its time on the moon, Chang'e-6 collected 2 kilograms of samples, which it will return to a lab on Earth. This is the second time the CNSA has planned such a mission and the first time it has taken place on the far side of the moon that humans cannot see from Earth.
The next mission in the series of Chinese lunar missions is Chang'e-7, which will focus its research efforts on the moon's south pole. Scientists predict that water ice may be abundant there and it could be a potential site for a future crewed Chinese lunar base. Chang'e-7 will also include a hopping rover to explore the local environment around its lander, but it is not planned to launch until 2026.
Currently, the Chang'e-6 mission orbiter, which has already successfully docked with the ascent vehicle containing the collected samples, is waiting for the appropriate time to return to Earth. It will also serve as the return vehicle, which is scheduled to land back on Earth on June 25. If everything goes according to plan, there will soon be more lunar samples for scientists to explore and another successful mission for CSNA that will be documented in some very stunning photographs.
learn more:
CGTN – Chang'e-6 Revealed: Discover the mini rover that photographed the Chang'e-6 probe
NASA – NASA's LRO spots China's Chang'e 6 spacecraft on the far side of the Moon
UT – Chinese spacecraft collects lunar samples and heads for Earth
UT – Chinese probe lands on far side of Moon to collect samples for return
Main image:
This image taken from NASA's Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter shows China's Chang'e 6 lander in the Apollo Basin on the far side of the moon on June 7, 2024. The lander is the bright spot in the center of the image. The image is about 0.4 miles wide (650 meters); the north side of the moon is overhead.
Credit: NASA/Goddard/Arizona State University