The Chang'e 6 lander (with the ascender on top) on the far side of the Moon. The photo was taken fromJinchan, a camera-equipped mini-rover that was released from the lander.
The mission began on 3 May 2024 when the spacecraft was launched fromWenchang Space Launch Site onHainan Island. Itslander androver touched down on the lunar far side on 1 June 2024.[14][5] The lander's robotic scoop and drill took samples with a total mass of 1935.3 grams from the lunar surface; the ascender module then carried these into lunar orbit on 3 June 2024.[15][11] The ascender docked with the orbiter module in lunar orbit on 6 June 2024 and transferred the samples to an atmospheric re-entry module which then returned to Earth. The mission's lander and rover also conducted scientific experiments on the lunar surface.
The overall mission lasted about 53 days, ending on 25 June 2024 with the return capsule re-entering the atmosphere with the samples, landing by parachute inInner Mongolia.[16]
The goal of the first phase was to reachlunar orbit. This was completed byChang'e 1 in 2007 and byChang'e 2 in 2010.
The second phase sought to land and rove on the Moon, a feat that was accomplished byChang'e 3 in 2013 and byChang'e 4 in 2019.
The third phase involves the collection of lunar samples and sending them to Earth, first completed byChang'e 5 in 2020 and, for the first time from thefar side by Chang'e 6 in 2024.
The fourth phase consists of the development of a robotic research station near the Moon's south pole.[17][18][19] The program aims to facilitate crewed lunar landings in the 2030s and possibly build a crewed outpost near thelunar south pole.[20]
The preceding Chang'e 5 mission returned 1.731 kilograms (3.82 lb) of material from the northern hemisphere of the lunar near side.
The Chang'e 6 mission landed on the southern hemisphere of the lunar far side to gather more material. Specifically, the landing segment of the Chang'e 6 mission touched down in a relatively flat area lying in the southern portion of theApollo crater, which itself lies within the largerSouth Pole-Aitken (SPA) impact basin on the lunar far side. Scientists hope that the samples collected from the landing area may include lunarmantle material ejected by the original impact that created the SPA basin, material which can shed light on the differences that exist between the lunar near-side and far-side, and on the origin of the Moon and the Solar System.[2]
The Chang'e 6 lander landed at 22:23UTC on 1 June 2024 in the southern mare ofApollo Basin (lunar coordinates:41°38′19″S153°59′07″W / 41.6385°S 153.9852°W /-41.6385; -153.9852).[5][21] After the completion of sample collection and the placement of the sample on the ascender by the probe's robotic drill and robotic arm, the ascender took off from atop the lander portion of the probe at 23:38 UTC on 3 June 2024.[7][22] The ascender docked with the Chang'e 6 service module (the orbiter) in lunar orbit at 06:48 UTC on 6 June 2024 and subsequently completed the transfer of the sample container to the Earth return module at 07:24 UTC on the same day.[23] On 25 June 2024, the return capsule landed inInner Mongolia.[24]
The mission's lander collected 1,935.3 grams (68.27 oz) of lunar far-side material including surface soil and rocks (using a scoop) and subsurface samples (using a drill).[11] With the return capsule's re-entry back to Earth, China became the first nation to bring back samples from the far side of the Moon.[16]
The hole left by the sampling was in the shape of the characterzhong (中) which is the initial character ofChina's nameZhōngguó中国. This symbolism went viral onWeibo.[25]
Chang'e 6 was built as a copy of and backup toChang'e 5.[26] The mission is reported to consist of four modules:
Lander: landed on the lunar surface after separating from the Orbiter, equipped with a drill and a scooping device. The Ascender was on the top of the Lander. It collected about 2 kg (4.4 lb) of samples from 2 metres (6.6 ft) below the surface[27] and placed them in the attached ascent vehicle to be launched into lunar orbit.
Ascender: The ascent vehicle then made a fully autonomous and roboticLunar orbit rendezvous and docking with Orbiter where the samples were robotically transferred into a sample-return capsule for their delivery to Earth.[28][29]
Orbiter: after the samples were transported from the Ascender to the Orbiter, the Orbiter left lunar orbit and spent ~4.5 days flying back toEarth orbit and released the Returner (reentry capsule) just before arrival.
Returner: The Returner will perform askip reentry to bounce off the atmosphere once before formal reentering.
The estimated launch mass is 8,200 kg (18,100 lb)—the lander is projected to be 3,200 kg (7,100 lb) and the ascent vehicle is about 700 kg (1,500 lb).[30][28][31]
In October 2018, CNSA announced that it would call for international partners to propose an additional payload up to 10 kg (22 lb) to be included in this mission.[32] In November 2022, it was announced that the mission would carry payloads from four international partners:[33][34]
The Italian instrument INRRI (INstrument for landing-Roving laser Retroreflector Investigations) consists of a retroreflector that precisely measures distances from the lander to orbit,[36] similar to those used in theSchiaparelli andInSight missions.
The Swedish NILS (Negative Ions on Lunar Surface), an instrument to detect and measure negative ions reflected by the lunar surface.[37]
Chang'e 6 carried a ~5kg (~11lb) mini-rover named "Jinchan" (Chinese: 金蟾), or "Golden Toad," due to its gold-sheeted insulating exterior. It is described as an "autonomous intelligent mini-robot" by its developer,CASC.[14][40] Outfitted with its own micro solar panels, the rover was designed to support research into the composition of the lunar surface, the presence of water ice in the lunar soil via animaging infrared spectrometer.[41] Additionally, Jinchan was tasked to image the Chang'e 6 lander on the lunar surface and was equipped cameras on both sides for redundancy purposes. Following the sample collection process, "the mini rover autonomously detached from the lander, moved to a suitable position, selected an ideal angle for the photograph and then captured the image."[40]
At 22:06 UTC, on 1 June 2024, the Chang'e 6 lander/ascender, with the support of theQueqiao-2 relay satellite, descended from its 200 kilometer (124 miles) orbit altitude.[45][46] It used its autonomous obstacle avoidance system, visible light camera, and laser 3D scanner to detect and avoid lunar obstacles and uneven terrain. At 22:23 UTC, it landed in the preselected area of theSouth Pole–Aitken basin on the far side of the Moon.[45] The engine was cut for the final approach and a cushioning system was used for the freefall touchdown.[47]
At 23:38 UTC on 3 June 2024, the Chang'e 6 ascender (carrying the samples) took off from the far side of the Moon and entered the predetermined circumlunar orbit. This was the world's first sampling and takeoff on the far side of the Moon.[48][49]
At 06:48 UTC on 6 June, 2024, the Chang'e 6 ascender rendezvoused and docked with the orbiter/returner in lunar orbit. At 07:24 UTC, the lunar sample container was safely transferred to the returner.[12]
On 21 June 2024, the service module of Chang'e 6 likely fired its engines to return to Earth from lunar orbit. At that time, CNSA did not provide updates on the mission, but some amateur optical and radio observers reported a probable engine burning.[50]
The re-entry to Earth happened on 25 June 2024.[51] An atmospheric re-entry module of about 300 kilograms separated from the service module which had flown back from the Moon.[51] This then decelerated byskipping off the atmosphere over the Atlantic before its final descent.[51] This capsule containing about 2 kilograms of samples landed by parachute at 06:07 UTC in the predesignated landing area ofSiziwang Banner inInner Mongolia.[24] Search teams waiting for the capsule reached it within minutes using helicopters.[24] The service module likely fired its engine for an Earth-impact avoidance burn.
The samples will be studied by Chinese scientists in collaboration with international experts. In the previous case ofChang'e 5 in 2020, direct access to samples by international partners started about three years after their return.[24]
75mg lunar far-side sample collected by Chang'e 6, displayed at 75thIAC.
After dropping off the return samples for Earth, the Chang'e 6 (CE-6) orbiter was successfully captured by theSun-Earth L2 Lagrange point on 9 September 2024.[52]
Launches are separated by dots ( • ), payloads by commas ( , ), multiple names for the same satellite by slashes ( / ). Crewed flights are underlined. Launch failures are marked with the † sign. Payloads deployed from other spacecraft are (enclosed in parentheses).
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