HELSINKI – The Chinese spacecraft Chang’e-6 is on its way to Earth to deliver samples collected on the far side of the moon.
The Chang’e-6 service module likely fired its engines for a trans-terrestrial injection around June 21. The spacecraft is now on the final leg of its complex, 53-day journey that includes a moon landing, sampling, ascent and docking. A return capsule containing the unique samples will be released from the service module shortly before arrival on Earth early June 25.
The China National Space Administration (CNSA) has not provided an update on any maneuvers to bring the spacecraft out of lunar orbit and towards home. However, optical and amateur radio observations indicate that the Chang’e-6 spacecraft is heading towards 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’s activities.
Upon return to Earth, the reentry capsule is expected to land on June 25 at 1:41 a.m. Eastern (0541 UTC) Siziwang Banner, Inner Mongolia, during a half-hour window opening. The information is based on reports about the closure of airspace. . CNSA has not publicly published the timing of mission events in advance.
The reentry capsule will first leave the atmosphere to kill off some of the energy from a high-speed lunar return before returning to Earth’s atmosphere.
Retrieving the samples will allow extensive research into the composition and evolution of the far side of the moon. The material collected could provide insight into why the near and far sides are so different, and clues into the history of the early solar system.
Mission milestones
Chang’e-6 was launched atop a Long March 5 rocket from Wenchang on May 3 and reached lunar orbit just under five days later. The lander-ascent vehicle combination touched down on June 1 at 41.6385°S, 206.0148°E in the Apollo Crater in the vast South Pole-Aitken Basin.
About 49 hours later, the mission’s ascent vehicle lifted off with up to 2,000 grams of material collected by a scoop and drill. The ascender docked with the Chang’e-6 service module in lunar orbit on June 6. The mission’s sample container was autonomously transferred to the reentry capsule after docking.
According to amateur radio tracking, the ascent flew into the moon several days later. CNSA has not issued a statement on the fate of the riser, but this would be in line with the protocol of the 2020 Chang’e-5 mission.
The Queqiao-2 relay satellite facilitated mission operations on the far side of the moon. The spacecraft, launched before Chang’e-6, allows communication with the far side of the moon, which, due to Earth’s gravity slowing the moon’s rotation, never faces Earth.
NASA Administrator Bill Nelson congratulated China on the mission’s progress after the launch of the riser.
Josef Aschbacher, head of the European Space Agency, also extended his congratulations to CNSA. He also noted the success of China-ESA cooperation during the Chang’e-6 mission.
This includes the successful collection of data by the NILS (Negative Ions on Lunar Surface) instrument and the support of ESA ground stations for early mission phases and return to Earth. However, ESA-China cooperation on the moon could be coming to an end.
Past Chang’e-6
NASA’s Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO) spotted the Chang’e 6 lander on the edge of an eroded crater in the Apollo Crater. LRO captured an image of the lander on June 7, after the ascent vehicle launched collected samples into lunar orbit.
The landing was only the second on the far side of the moon. It follows the landing of the 2019 Chang’e-4 lander and rover. That mission, along with the Chang’e-5 side sample return, paved the way for Chang’e-6.
Upon releasing the reentry module, the Chang’e-6 service will likely fire its engines to prevent reentry. The spacecraft could then be sent on a longer mission, depending on propellant reserves. The Chang’e-5 orbiter visited Sun-Earth Lagrange point 1 before returning to the moon to test a distant retrograde orbit. Outside parties again monitored Chang’e-5’s extensive activities.
China’s next lunar mission will be the Chang’e-7 multi-spacecraft in 2026. The Chang’e-8 in-situ resource and technology utilization test mission will follow around 2028.
These are described as precursor missions to the Chinese-led International Lunar Research Station (ILRS). Super heavy lift launches in the early 2030s will see ILRS built. A number of countries and organizations have joined the project.
To this end, China wants to send a few astronauts to the moon’s surface before 2030.
| Milestone | Description | Date |
| Launch of Queqiao-2 | Launch of a relay satellite in support of Chang’e-6 | March 19, 2024 |
| Introducing Queqiao-2 into lunar orbit | Queqiao-2 enters orbit around the moon | March 24 |
| CE-6 mission launch | Launch of the Chang’e-6 spacecraft | 3rd of May |
| Insertion of a lunar orbit | Spacecraft enters orbit around the moon | May 8th |
| Moon landing | Descent and landing on the moon | 1 June |
| Sample collection, surface work | Collection of lunar soil and rock samples | June 1-3 |
| Ascent from the lunar surface | The ascent vehicle is launched from the moon to the moon’s orbit | June 3 |
| Rendezvous and docking | The ascent vehicle docks with the orbiter in lunar orbit | June the 6th |
| Trans-terrestrial injection | Maneuver to send an orbiter to Earth | ~June 21 |
| Return and landing from Earth | The return capsule reenters Earth’s atmosphere and lands | Expected June 25 |
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