China: China’s ambitious space program could take a significant stride ahead with the launch of an uncrewed lunar mission that attempts to retrieve samples from the moon’s far side for the first time.
The Chang’e-6 is scheduled to launch between 8.30 and 11 a.m. GMT, and a successful mission would significantly support China’s goal of landing a man on the moon by 2030.
But in the midst of what the president of NASA has described as a new “space race,” Beijing’s geopolitical aspirations have also alarmed China’s main adversary, the US, over the mission.
China has advanced its lunar exploration since the first Chang’e mission in 2007, which was named after the legendary Chinese moon goddess. As a result, China has closed the technology gap with Russia and the United States.
Chang’e-6’s 53-day mission, which includes a previously untried ascent from the moon’s “hidden” side on its way home, is dependent on a recently launched relay satellite orbiting the moon because it has no direct line of sight with Earth.
In an attempt to meet Beijing’s goal of landing humans on the moon by 2030, China plans to begin exploring the south pole for water and constructing a basic outpost with Russia in 2026 and 2028, respectively, using the same relay satellite.
The largest and oldest impact crater on the moon, Aitken Basin, is located on the side that faces Earth permanently. As part of its mission, the Chang’e-6 will try to collect materials from this crater. According to experts, the samples may provide information on a major solar system activity phase that occurred billions of years ago.
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