China Raises Flag , on the 'Dark Side' , of the Moon.
'Newsweek' reports that for the first time in human history, China has begun the process of returning samples from the "dark side" of the moon to the Earth.
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The Chang'e-6 craft reportedly raised a small Chinese flag after collecting the samples before ending its two-day mission on the moon's "dark side.".
It is an impressive demonstration of Chinese technological capability, John Logsdon, professor emeritus at the George Washington University and founder of its Space Policy Institute, via 'Newsweek'.
The "dark side" refers to the hemisphere of the moon that faces away from the Earth most of the time due to its synchronous rotation.
John Logsdon, professor emeritus at the George Washington University and founder of its Space Policy Institute, says the samples could... .
... "determine whether the lunar far side is similar or dissimilar to the face of the moon that has been explored for over 50 years.".
The Chang'e-6 landed at the moon's South Pole in the Aitken Basin, one of our solar system's largest impact craters.
In order to communicate with the spacecraft, China used the Queqiao-2 relay satellite to transmit messages to vehicles on either side of the moon.
The probe autonomously used a robotic arm to drill into the surface and gather the samples.
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'Newsweek' reports that the lander also carried three research instruments from European space agencies, including Italy's National Institute for Nuclear Physics.
China's seventh Chang'e mission is scheduled to take place in 2026.
