{"id":40643,"date":"2024-05-04T16:47:22","date_gmt":"2024-05-04T16:47:22","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/mauritius\/all-news\/china-rocket-blasts-off-for-far-side-of-moon"},"modified":"2024-05-04T18:20:25","modified_gmt":"2024-05-04T18:20:25","slug":"china-rocket-blasts-off-for-far-side-of-moon","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/mauritius\/all-news\/china-rocket-blasts-off-for-far-side-of-moon","title":{"rendered":"China rocket blasts off for far side of Moon"},"content":{"rendered":"

Africa-Press – Mauritius. <\/strong><\/span>China has launched a probe to collect samples from the far side of the Moon, in what is being billed a world first.<\/p>\n

An uncrewed rocket carrying the Chang’e-6 probe blasted off from the Wenchang Space Launch Center at about 17:27 local time (10:27 BST).<\/p>\n

The 53-day mission aims to bring around two kilograms of lunar samples to Earth for analysis.<\/p>\n

It will try to relaunch from the side of the moon facing away from Earth.<\/p>\n

This is described as the dark side of the Moon because it can’t be seen from Earth, not because it does not catch the sun’s rays.<\/p>\n

It has a thicker, older crust with more craters, which are less covered by ancient lava flows than the near side.<\/p>\n

Scientists hope this may make it easier to collect material that could shed light on how the Moon was formed.<\/p>\n

Ge Ping, vice director of China’s Lunar Exploration and Space Engineering Center, told reporters ahead of the launch: “Chang’e-6 will collect samples from the far side of the Moon for the first time.”<\/p>\n

The probe was named after the Moon goddess and one of the most popular figures in Chinese mythology.<\/p>\n

It is expected to make a soft landing in the South Pole-Aitken Basin, a vast depression which is 2,500km (1,553 miles) wide and up to 8km (5 miles) deep.<\/p>\n

It then aims to collect lunar soil and rocks, and conduct experiments, using a drill and a mechanical arm, the China National Space Administration said.<\/p>\n

It will use a relay satellite named Queqiao 2 to communicate with the Earth, it added.<\/p>\n

The launch marks the first of three uncrewed missions to the moon planned by China this decade.<\/p>\n

Chang’e-7 will search the lunar south pole for water, and Chang’e-8 will attempt to establish the technical feasibility of building a planned base, known as the International Lunar Research Station.<\/p>\n

Its predecessor, Chang’e-5, retrieved the youngest ever lavas from the Moon on its return in December 2020.<\/p>\n

Friday’s lift off marks the latest stage in China’s space exploration programme that is competing with the US.<\/p>\n

Five years ago China became the first country to land a rover on the Moon’s far side.<\/p>\n

By 2030, it aims to have put its first astronauts on the Moon, and to have sent probes to collect samples from Mars and Jupiter.<\/p>\n

For More News And Analysis About Mauritius<\/a> Follow Africa-Press<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Africa-Press – Mauritius. China has launched a probe to collect samples from the far side of the Moon, in what is being billed a world first. An uncrewed rocket carrying the Chang’e-6 probe blasted off from the Wenchang Space Launch Center at about 17:27 local time (10:27 BST). The 53-day mission aims to bring around […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":84,"featured_media":40642,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2,9],"tags":[233,245,241],"class_list":["post-40643","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-all-news","category-miscellaneous","tag-africa-press","tag-africa-press-mauritius","tag-mauritius"],"yoast_head":"\nChina rocket blasts off for far side of Moon - Mauritius<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"China has launched a probe to collect samples from the far side of the Moon, in what is being billed a world first. 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