June 2 (UPI) — After a month-long journey, a Chinese spacecraft has landed on the far side of the moon, the China National Space Administration said.
Chinese space administration officials have said they intend to collect rock and soil from this notoriously difficult-to-reach region of the lunar surface for the first time in history, the CNSA said.
“Everyone is very excited that we might get a look at these rocks no-one has ever seen before,” Professor John Pernet-Fisher, who specializes in lunar geology at the University of Manchester, told the BBC.
“Applause erupted at the Beijing Aerospace Flight Control Center” when the Chang’e landing craft touched down on the Moon early on Sunday morning, the Chinese state broadcaster said.
Chinese space scientists landed the Chang’e 6 craft in a crater known as the Apollo Basin. “The choice was made for the Apollo Basin’s potential value of scientific exploration, as well as the conditions of the landing area, including communication and telemetry conditions and the flatness of the terrain,” said Huang Hao, a space expert from the China Aerospace Science and Technology Corp.
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Source: https://www.upi.com/Science_News/2024/06/02/ch-china-lands-on-moons-dark-side/6471717367385/
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