The Associated Press
BEIJING— A Chinese spacecraft landed on the far side of the moon Sunday to collect soil and rock samples that could provide insights into differences between the less-explored region and the better-known near side. The landing module touched down at 6:23 a.m. Beijing time in a huge crater known as the South Pole-Aitken Basin, the China National Space Administration said. The mission is the sixth in the Chang’e moon exploration program, which is named after a Chinese moon goddess.
pushed the target date back to 2026 earlier this year. U.S. efforts to use private sector rockets to launch spacecraft have been repeatedly delayed. Last-minute computer trouble nixed the planned launch of Boeing’s first astronaut flight Saturday. Earlier Saturday, a Japanese billionaire called off his plan to orbit the moon because of uncertainty over the development of a mega rocket by SpaceX.
is planning to use the rocket to send its astronauts to the moon. In China’s current mission, the lander is to use a mechanical arm and a drill to gather up to 4.4 pounds of surface and underground material for about two days. An ascender atop the lander will then take the samples in a metal vacuum container back to another module that is orbiting the moon.
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