HELSINKI – China is gearing up for future space missions after retrieving nearly two kilos of lunar samples from the far side of the moon. The Chang’e-6 reentry capsule landed back on Earth on June 25, successfully ending a 53-day mission. The capsule was recovered as planned in the grasslands of Siziwang Banner, Inner Mongolia. … Read more
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 … Read more
NASA’s Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO) has captured new images of the far side of the moon that have revealed the location of a Chinese spacecraft. The images obtained by the LRO on June 7 reveal the position of China’s Chang’e 6 sample return spacecraft, which was parked in the Apollo Basin. This geologically rich region … Read more
HELSINKI – European-Chinese cooperation in lunar exploration could end despite successful cooperation in the ongoing Chang’e-6 mission. ESA delivered a payload for China’s Chang’e-6 complex sample return mission to the far side of the moon, which launched on May 3. The mission aims to collect and return samples from the far side of the moon, … Read more
32 China’s Chang’e 6 landed on the far side of the moon and sampled it, while the Shenzhou-18 crew performed a record-breaking spacewalk at the Tiangong Space Station. In addition, ten more rockets have been launched from the country in recent weeks. Chang’e 6 lands on the far side of the moon China’s sixth unmanned … Read more
HELSINKI – An ascent vehicle docked with the Chang’e-6 service module on Thursday, in a crucial step toward bringing the first samples to Earth from the far side of the moon. The rendezvous and docking to the lunar orbit was completed at 2:48 a.m. Eastern (0648 UTC) on June 6, the China National Space Administration … Read more
HELSINKI – Material from the far side of the moon has begun its journey to Earth after Chinese spacecraft collected samples and launched them into lunar orbit. The Chang’e-6 mission’s ascent vehicle lifted off from atop the mission lander in the Apollo crater at 7:38 PM on June 3 (2338 UTC), the China National Space … Read more