On Tuesday, a capsule carrying soil from the far side of the moon will parachute into the desert in China’s Inner Mongolia region.
The sample, collected by China’s National Space Administration’s Chang’e-6 lander, is expected to be the latest achievement in a string of near-flawless performances by China’s lunar exploration missions since 2007.
Here’s what you need to know about the Chang’e-6 mission’s return to Earth.
When is the landing and how can I watch it?
The Chinese 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?
For starters, don’t call it the dark side of the moon: it gets plenty of sunlight.
But when you look at the sky from Earth, you only see one side of the moon: the near side. Its face is littered with wide, dark plains where ancient lava once flowed.
The other side of the moon – the half hidden from us on Earth – is different. It has fewer of those plains, more craters and a thicker crust, although scientists aren’t sure why.
It may not be a mystery for much longer. China has landed two missions there to investigate why it is so different from its near side.
What is China’s Chang’e Program?
Named after the Chinese moon goddess Chang’e (pronounced “chong-uh”), China’s lunar exploration program was originally designed with three phases: orbiting, landing, and sampling. The first two spacecraft, Chang’e-1 and 2, orbited the moon, imaging 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 took a closer look at the moon’s surface.
A year later, Chang’e-5 landed and collected nearly four pounds of lunar regolith, which was then launched to Earth. The mission made China the third country – after the United States and the Soviet Union – to retrieve a sample from the moon.
What has happened so far during Chang’e-6?
Chang’e-6 launched on May 3 with even bigger plans: bringing back material from the far side of the moon. Because this half never faces Earth, it is impossible to communicate directly with landers on the far side of the moon, making it difficult to reach them successfully. The Chinese space agency used two moon-orbiting satellites, Queqiao and Queqiao-2, to maintain contact with Chang’e-6 during the mission.
The spacecraft spent a few weeks in lunar orbit and then landed on the moon in June. He descended to a spot on the edge of the South Pole-Aitken Basin, the oldest and deepest impact crater on the moon.
Equipped with a mechanical shovel and a drill, Chang’e-6 spent two days collecting lunar rocks and dust from the moon’s environment and subsurface. Those samples were then stored in the spacecraft. A small rover on the side of the spacecraft took a photo of the lander with a raised Chinese flag.
Then on June 3, a rocket from the spacecraft lifted off, sending the samples into orbit around the moon. The materials were then reunited on June 6 with a spacecraft that had remained in orbit and was preparing for the journey back to Earth.
Some time on Tuesday, the sample container will attempt to reenter Earth’s atmosphere. If the mission is as successful as Chang’e-4, China will retrieve the materials and scientific investigation into their contents will begin.