On Tuesday, a capsule carrying soil from the far side of the moon will blast off into the desert in China’s Inner Mongolia region.
The sample retrieved by the China National Space Administration’s Chang’e-6 lander is expected to be the latest success in a string of near-flawless performances by China’s lunar exploration missions since 2007.
Here’s what you need to know about the return of the Chang’e-6 mission to Earth.
When is the landing and how can I track it?
China’s space agency has yet to confirm when the mission will end.
But according to NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center, the Chang’e-6 sample return capsule is expected to land at 1:41 a.m. Eastern Time, which is 1:41 p.m. local time, in the Siziwang Banner area of ​​Inner Mongolia, a region in northern China.
The Times will share an embedded live video stream if the Chinese space agency provides one closer to the expected landing time.
What is the far side of the moon?
Don’t call it the dark side of the moon, for starters – it gets a lot of sunlight.
But when you look at the sky from Earth, you always see only one side of the moon, the near side. Its face is dotted with wide dark plains where ancient lava once flowed.
The far side of the Moon – the half that is hidden from us on Earth – is different. It has fewer of these plains, more craters, and a thicker crust, although scientists aren’t sure why.
It doesn’t have to be a secret anymore. China has sent two missions there to explore why it is so different from a nearby country.
What is China’s Chang’e Program?
China’s lunar exploration program, named after the Chinese moon goddess Chang’e (pronounced “chong-uh”), was originally designed with three phases: orbit, landing, and sampling. The first two spacecraft, Chang’e-1 and 2, circled the moon, taking pictures and mapping its surface. Chang’e-3 landed on the near side of the moon in 2013, and in 2019, Chang’e-4 did the same on the far side. Rovers from both missions then examined the lunar surface more closely.
A year later, Chang’e-5 landed and collected nearly four pounds of lunar regolith, which was then released to Earth. The mission made China the third country—after the United States and the Soviet Union—to retrieve a lunar sample.
What happened so far during Chang’e-6?
Chang’e-6 launched on May 3 with even grander plans: to bring back material from the far side of the moon. Because this half never faces Earth, it is impossible to communicate directly with the landers on the far side of the Moon, making it difficult to reach successfully. The Chinese Space Agency used two moon-orbiting satellites, Queqiao and Queqiao-2, to stay in contact with Chang’e-6 during the mission.
The spacecraft spent several weeks in lunar orbit before landing on the moon in June. It descended to a location on the edge of the South Pole-Aitken Basin, the oldest and deepest impact crater on the Moon.
Equipped with a mechanical scoop and a drill, Chang’e-6 spent two days collecting lunar rock and dust from its surroundings and the lunar subsurface. These samples were then hidden in the spacecraft. A small rover attached to the side of the spacecraft took a picture of the lander with the Chinese flag raised.
Then on June 3, a rocket on the spacecraft lifted off and sent the samples into orbit around the moon. The materials then rejoined the spacecraft on June 6, which remained in orbit and prepared to begin its journey back to Earth.
Sometime on Tuesday, the sample vessel will attempt to re-enter Earth’s atmosphere. If the mission is as successful as Chang’e-4, China will acquire the materials and begin scientific research on their contents.