China launches rocket to bring back pieces of the far side of the moon

The ‘dark’ side of the lunar surface remains largely mysterious since it is cut off from radio communications

A general view shows the launch platform for the Chang’e-6 mission of the China Lunar Exploration Programme at the Wenchang Space Launch Centre in southern China’s Hainan Province on 2 May 2024 (AFP via Getty)

China has launched a probe that will fly to the far side of the moon – and bring pieces of it back to Earth.

The Chang’e-6 probe aims to help us better understand the distant side of the lunar surface. The area is hard to explore, because it is cut off from radio communications with Earth – but it could be a key resource for work such as radio astronomy, since it is shielded from interference from our own planet.

The launch of the rocket on Friday is the latest and perhaps most spectacular aspect of the country’s attempts to overtake the US in the new space race.

It already has a crew on its own space station, and aims to land humans on the moon by 2030. But first it must head there with landers – three of which are planned to be sent there over the next four years.

The lunar lander of the Chang’e-4 probe in a photo taken by the rover Yutu-2 on 11 January (China National Space Administration/Xinhua News Agency via AP)

The rocket carrying the Chang’e-6 lunar probe – named after the Chinese mythical moon goddess – lifted off on Friday at 5.27pm as planned from the Wenchang launch centre in the island province of Hainan. About 35 minutes later it separated entirely from the rocket that had slung it into space – the massive Long March 5, which is China’s largest – as technicians monitoring the launch from ground control smiled and applauded. 

Shortly afterwards, launch mission commander Zhang Zuosheng took to a podium at the front of the room and said that the launch had gone off exactly as planned and the spacecraft was on its set trajectory. “I declare this launch mission a complete success,” Zhang said, to further applause. 

The Philippine Space Agency issued a statement saying the expected debris from the rocket launch was “projected to have fallen within the identified drop zones”. 

In 2021, China was forced to defend its handling of a rocket booster that burned up over the Indian Ocean after officials including the administrator of the American space agency accused Beijing of acting recklessly by allowing its rocket to fall to Earth seemingly uncontrolled after the mission.

Huge numbers of people crowded onto Hainan’s beaches to view the launch, which came in the middle of China’s five-day May Day holiday. As with previous recent launches, the event was televised live by state broadcaster CCTV. 

After orbiting the moon to reduce its speed, the lander will separate from the spacecraft, and within 48 hours of setting down it will begin drilling into the lunar surface and scooping up samples with its robotic arm. With the samples sealed in a container, it will then reconnect with the returner for the trip back to Earth. The entire mission is set to last 53 days.

In 2020, China returned samples from the moon’s near side, the first time anyone had done so since the former Soviet Union in 1976. Analysis of the samples found they contained water in tiny beads embedded in lunar dirt.

Also in the past week, three Chinese astronauts returned home from a six-month mission on the country’s orbiting space station after the arrival of its replacement crew.

China built its own space station after being excluded from the International Space Station (ISS), largely because of US concerns over the Chinese military’s total control of the space programme amid sharpening competition in technology between the two geopolitical rivals. US law bars almost all cooperation between the US and Chinese space programmes without explicit congressional approval.

Faced with such limitations, China has expanded cooperation with other countries and agencies. The latest mission carries scientific instruments from France, Italy and the European Space Agency in cooperation with Sweden. A small Pakistani satellite is also on board.

China’s ambitious space programme aims to put astronauts on the moon by 2030, to bring back samples from Mars around the same time, and to launch three lunar probe missions over the next four years.

Longer-term plans call for a permanent crewed base on the lunar surface, although those appear to remain in the conceptual phase.

China conducted its first crewed space mission in 2003, becoming the third country after the former Soviet Union and the US to put a person into space using its own resources.

The three-module Tiangong, much smaller than the ISS, was launched in 2021 and completed 18 months later. It can accommodate up to six astronauts at a time, and is mainly dedicated to scientific research. The crew will also install space debris protection equipment, carry out payload experiments, and beam science classes to students on Earth.

China has also said that it plans eventually to offer access to its space station to foreign astronauts and space tourists. With the ISS nearing the end of its useful life, China could eventually be the only country or corporation to maintain a crewed station in orbit.

The US space programme is believed still to hold a significant edge over China’s due to its spending, supply chains and capabilities. 

The US aims to put astronauts back on the lunar surface by 2026 at the earliest. This time, though, Nasa is partnering with private companies such as SpaceX and Blue Origin, which will provide the landers for the astronauts.

They plan to land on the moon’s south pole, where permanently shadowed craters are believed to be packed with frozen water.

Additional reporting by agencies