Chinese spacecraft Chang'e-6 lands on the far side of the moon to collect samples in the South Pole-Aitken Basin amidst space rivalry with the US.

A Chinese spacecraft has landed on the far side of the moon to collect rocks in a growing space rivalry with the US, according to the official Xinhua News Agency. The Chang'e-6 is the sixth mission in China's Chang'e moon exploration program and the second designed to bring back samples, following the Chang'e-5 in 2020. The lunar probe touched down in the South Pole-Aitken Basin, the largest known impact crater in the solar system, to collect up to 2 kilograms of surface and underground material for the first time. The mission is part of a growing rivalry between China and the US, as both countries aim to explore and understand the moon's far side.

June 01, 2024
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