HELSINKI – China’s Chang’e-6 probe is on its way to Earth to deliver samples taken from the far side of the moon.
The Chang’e-6 service module likely fired its engines for trans-Earth injection around June 21. The spacecraft is now on the final leg of its complex, 53-day journey that includes landing on the moon, collecting samples, ascent and docking. The reentry capsule containing the unique samples will be released from the service module shortly before arriving on Earth early on June 25.
The China National Space Administration (CNSA) has not provided an update on any maneuvers to get the spacecraft out of lunar orbit and back home. However, optical and radio amateur observations show that the Chang’e-6 probe is headed for Earth.
Observations and data shared by astronomer Bill Gray and others and radio tracking by individuals and groups including Scott Tilley and AMSAT-DL provide evidence of Chang’e-6 activities.
After returning to Earth, the reentry capsule is expected to land at Siziwang Banner in Inner Mongolia during the half-hour window at 1:41 a.m. (0541 UTC) on June 25. The information is according to the announcement on the closure of the airspace. CNSA did not openly disclose the timing of the mission’s events in advance.
The reentry capsule first jumps out of the atmosphere to kill some of the high-speed lunar reentry energy before reentering Earth’s atmosphere.
Obtaining the samples will allow extensive research into the composition and development of the far side of the Moon. The collected material could provide insight into why the near and far side are so different, and provide clues about the history of the early solar system.
Mission Milestones
Chang’e-6 launched atop a Long March 5 rocket from Wenchang on May 3 and reached lunar orbit less than five days later. Its lander-ascend combination landed at 41.6385°S, 206.0148°E in Apollo Crater in the vast South Pole-Aitken Basin on June 1.
The mission’s exit vehicle lifted off with up to 2,000 grams of material collected by scooping and drilling about 49 hours later. Ascender docked with the Chang’e-6 service module in lunar orbit on June 6. The mission’s sample container autonomously moved into the return capsule after docking.
According to amateur radio tracking, it emerged from orbit on the moon a few days later. CNSA has not released a statement on the fate of the ascender, but this would be consistent with the protocol from the 2020 Chang’e-5 mission.
The Queqiao-2 transfer satellite facilitated mission operations on the far side of the Moon. A spacecraft launched before Chang’e-6 enables communication with the far side of the Moon, which never faces Earth due to Earth’s gravity slowing the Moon’s rotation.
NASA Administrator Bill Nelson congratulated China on the mission’s progress after the winch was lifted.
The head of the European Space Agency, Josef Aschbacher, also expressed his congratulations to the CNSA. He also noted the success of the cooperation between China and ESA on the Chang’e-6 mission.
This includes successful data collection by the Negative Ions on Lunar Surface (NILS) instrument and ESA ground station support for the initial stages of the mission and return to Earth. However, cooperation between ESA and China in the lunar sphere could be coming to an end.
Behind the Chang’e-6
NASA’s Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO) spotted the Chang’e 6 lander at the edge of an eroded crater in Apollo Crater. LRO took the image of the lander on June 7 after the rover launched the collected samples into lunar orbit.
The landing was only the second on the far side of the moon. This is followed by the landing of the Chang’e-4 lander and rover in 2019. This mission, along with the return of a sample from the vicinity of Chang’e-5, paved the way for Chang’e-6.
After releasing the reentry module, the Chang’e-6 service will likely fire its engines to prevent reentry. The spacecraft could then be sent on an extended mission depending on propellant supplies. The Chang’e-5 orbiter visited Sun-Earth Lagrange Point 1 before returning to the Moon to test a distant retrograde orbit. Once again, outside parties monitored the extended activities of Chang’e-5.
China’s next lunar mission will be the Chang’e-7 multispacecraft in 2026. The Chang’e-8 in-situ resource and technology test mission will follow around 2028.
These are described as precursor missions to the China-led International Lunar Research Station (ILRS). Superheavy lift launches in the early 1930s construct the ILRS. Several countries and organizations signed up for the project.
Before that, China wants to send a pair of astronauts to the lunar surface by 2030.
| Milestone | Description | date |
| Launch of Queqiao-2 | Launch of a transfer satellite in support of Chang’e-6 | March 19, 2024 |
| Queqiao-2 lunar orbit insertion | Queqiao-2 enters lunar orbit | March 24th |
| Start of mission CE-6 | Launch of Chang’e-6 spacecraft | May 3rd |
| Insertion into lunar orbit | A spacecraft enters lunar orbit | 8th May |
| Lunar landing | Descent and landing on the moon | 1 June |
| Sampling, surface operations | A collection of lunar soil and rock samples | 1-3 June |
| Exit from the lunar surface | A launch vehicle launches from the Moon into lunar orbit | June 3rd |
| Rendezvous and docking | An exit vehicle docks with an orbiter in lunar orbit | June 6 |
| Trans-Earth Injection | Maneuver to send the orbiter to Earth | ~21. June |
| Re-entry to Earth and landing | The reentry capsule will re-enter Earth’s atmosphere and land | Estimated June 25 |
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