China’s Chang’e-6 lunar mission, marking a historic first, successfully returned to Earth on Tuesday with cargo from the far side of the Moon, as confirmed by an official statement from the China National Space Administration.
The spacecraft touched down in Siziwang Banner, Inner Mongolia at approximately 2:07 p.m. local time (0607 GMT), concluding a 53-day mission that brought back the initial rock samples ever collected from this unexplored lunar region.
Launched last month from Hainan, China, the Chang’e-6 mission achieved a milestone as the first to collect and return samples from the Moon’s far side, a feat not accomplished in any previous lunar exploration.
The samples are set to be transported to Beijing for detailed examination and analysis. This mission follows the success of Chang’e-5, which in December 2020 returned the first lunar soil samples to Earth in over four decades. The Chang’e-6 spacecraft, similar to its predecessor, consists of an orbiter, a lander, an ascender, and a returner.