We will also reach Mars soon

China on Friday launched the Chang’e-6 lunar probe, which is on its way to collect the moon First samples From the hidden side of the moon. This is not the only achievement in which China wants to surpass the United States.

Chang’e-6 probe

Long March-5 missile It took off from the island of Hainan Province, southern China, Friday at 9:27 UTC. After 40 minutes, the Chang’e-6 probe successfully separated from the rocket and entered a transition orbit between the Earth and the Moon.

Like its predecessor Chang’e-5, the probe consists of an orbiter, a lunar descent module, an ascent module and a return module to bring samples of lunar regolith to Earth.

Unlike its predecessor, Chang’e-6 will bring back a piece of soil from the far side of the Moon. An unprecedented milestone Which will help to better understand the lesser-known side of the satellite.

Task profile

The probe will reach the Moon in five days, at which point it will stop entering lunar orbit. Soon after, it will launch a small Pakistani satellite designed to obtain data about the moon’s magnetic field.

The lunar lander will separate from the lander orbiter, but will still rely on it to communicate with Earth, since the far side of the Moon is always located behind our planet.

The lander contains a pair of built-in European instruments to study the lunar surface. After analyzing the terrain, You will have 14 hours to dig the ground And sampling with a robotic arm.

The ascent module will launch into lunar orbit and dock with the orbiter to transport the sample container. The probe will wait 14 days until the next transfer window. It will then return to Earth, which will take another five days.

53 days after the start of the mission, the return module will separate from the probe to return to the Earth’s atmosphere. A parachute will assist in landing over the Inner Mongolian desert, where the capsule will be recovered by the rescue team.

Double challenge for NASA

If all goes well, China will have brought to Earth in 53 days the first samples from the far side of the Moon, collected by Chang’e-6 in an impact crater at the Moon’s south pole called the Aitken Basin.

The massive crater, with a diameter of 2,500 kilometers and a depth of 13 kilometers, was formed more than 4 billion years ago. It is the largest and oldest impact crater on the Moon One of the largest in the solar systemso that he can provide valuable information about the youth of both.

This will not be the first time that China has obtained samples from the moon that are of special interest to the scientific community. The samples collected by the previous Chang’e-5 mission come from one of the satellite’s newest regions, and NASA had to open an extraordinary means of cooperation so that its scientists could order them from China.

This will not be the last time that China challenges the United States in recovering samples from other worlds. After the disaster of NASA and the European Space Agency’s Mars sample return mission, China is confident It will be the first country In bringing soil from Mars to Earth.

A few days ago, Wu Weiren, chief scientist at the China National Space Administration (CNSA), said that its Tianwen 3 mission has now begun. Best position To get him:

“Judging by the current progress of other countries’ Mars exploration projects, China is expected to become the first to complete a Mars sample return mission.”

Tianwen 3 is scheduled to launch in 2030. Like Chinese lunar missions, it consists of an orbiter, lander, ascent module, and reentry module.

NASA had already collected samples using the Perseverance rover, but ran out of its budget to search for them and asked the private sector to help. Develop more affordable ideas. China does not believe the private sector will arrive in time to win the race. It would be one of the greatest symbolic victories of the space race for one of the two countries to be able to set foot on the Red Planet.

Photos | CNSA

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