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China Moon mission lands Chang'e-4 spacecraft on far side

China says it has successfully landed a robotic spacecraft on the far side of the Moon, the first ever such attempt and landing.


 
GETTY IMAGES / A mock-up of the Chang'e-4 lander and rover, on display in Dongguan, China

GETTY IMAGES / A mock-up of the Chang'e-4 lander and rover, on display in Dongguan, China

At 10:26 Beijing time (02:26 GMT), the un-crewed Chang'e-4 probe touched down in the South Pole-Aitken Basin, state media said.

It is carrying instruments to analyse the unexplored region's geology, as well to conduct biological experiments.

The landing is being seen as a major milestone in space exploration.

There have been numerous missions to the Moon in recent years, but the vast majority have been to orbit, fly by or impact. The last crewed landing was Apollo 17 in 1972.

Why China has its eye on the stars

First pictures from the surface
EPA/CNSA
All pictures and data have to be bounced off a separate satellite
 

The Chang'e-4 probe has already sent back its first pictures from the surface, which were shared by state media.

With no direct communication link possible, all pictures and data have to be bounced off a separate satellite before being relayed to Earth.

Why is this Moon landing so significant?

Previous Moon missions have landed on the Earth-facing side, but this is the first time any craft has landed successfully on the unexplored and rugged far side.

Some spacecraft have crashed into the far side, either after system failures, or after they had completed their mission.

Ye Quanzhi, an astronomer at Caltech, told the BBC this was the first time China had "attempted something that other space powers have not attempted before".

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Source: BBC News:

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