Chang’e-6 Returns Samples from Moon’s Far Side

China’s Chang’e-6 became the world’s first spacecraft to bring back samples from the Moon’s Far Side i.e the part of the Moon that the Earth never gets to see.

Far side of the Moon/Dark side of the Moon

• About the Dark Side: The Moon’s far side is often called the dark side because it cannot be seen from the Earth, not because it does not catch the Sun’s rays. 
  • Reason: The Moon is tidally locked with the Earth and therefore, only one side of the Moon, also known as the near side is seen.
• Interest on the Moon’s Far Side because:
  • It has a thicker crust compared to the near side.
  • The far side features more craters.
  • It has fewer maria, or plains where lava once flowed.
• Significance of the study of the Far side of the Moon: 
  • Solve Moon’s origin and evolution: Examining samples from the far side of the Moon and conducting different kinds of geophysical measurements can help scientists solve mysteries about the Moon’s origin and evolution.
    • Until now, scientists have only been able to analyse samples from the near side.
  • Understanding Lunar Differences: Far-side samples can provide answers to the longstanding question of why the far side is different from the near side.
• Challenges: 
  • Communication hurdles: Navigating to the far side of the Moon poses significant risks due to the difficulty in communicating with spacecraft once they reach that region.
  • Rugged Terrain: The terrain is also rugged with fewer flat areas to land.

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The Chang’e-6 mission

• About: Chang’e is a series of lunar probes launched by China National Space administration.
• China and Chang’e: It is China’s sixth mission to the Moon, named after the moon goddess Chang’e in Chinese mythology and China’s first lunar sample-return mission.
  • China is the only country to achieve a soft-landing on the far side of the Moon. 
• Duration: The Chang’e-6 was a 53-day-long mission. 
• Exploration: In 2019, its Chang’e-4 mission landed on the region and explored the Moon’s Von Karman crater with the help of a rover.

Workings of Chang’e mission

• Orbital Entry and Descent: After reaching the Moon’s orbit, the mission’s orbiter circled the natural satellite while its lander descended into the 2,500-kilometre-wide South Pole-Aitken basin– a gigantic crater on the Moon’s far side which is one of the largest known in the Solar System.
• Significance of the South Pole-Aitken Basin: The basin’s impact is believed to have unearthed material from the lunar mantle. 
  • Retrieving this material could provide insights into the Moon’s internal history.
• Sample Collection and Return:
  • The lander collected samples by scooping and drilling.
  • An ascent vehicle then transferred the samples to the orbiter’s service module.
  • The service module returned the samples to Earth.

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