CHANG’E 6 (Syllabus: GS Paper 3 – Sci and Tech)

Context: China's national space agency recently announced that the Chang'e-6 probe has lifted off from the far side of the moon, beginning its journey back to Earth.

Chang’e-6

• About: It is a lunar lander and sample return mission that landed on the far side of the Moon within the South Pole Aitken Basin.
• Launched by: China's National Space Administration spearheads the Chang'e 6 mission.
• Carried by: The mission is propelled into space by the Long March-5 Y8 rocket from the Wenchang Space Launch Site in Hainan.
• Components: The spacecraft comprises four modules, a service module, lander, ascent vehicle, and reentry capsule.
• Objective: To collect about 2 kg of material from the far side of the Moon within about two days of landing and bring it back to Earth.
• Significance: This mission marks the first attempt in human lunar exploration history to collect and return samples from the moon's surface.
• Chang'e 4: Landed in the Von Karman crater in the South Pole-Aitken Basin in 2019, making history with the Yutu-2 rover's successful soft landing on the moon's far side.
• Chang'e 5: Its descender and lander touched down on Mons Rumker, a vast volcanic plain on the moon.