The spacecraft, part of the Chang'e moon exploration program, will collect soil and rock samples.
Just hours after
was forced to scrap the Florida launch of the Boeing Starliner for the second time, 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.
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 maiden launch of Boeing's first astronaut flight Saturday from Cape Canaveral. The Boeing Starliner, carrying two astronauts bound for the International Space Station, was less than four minutes from takeoff when a computer system triggered an automatic hold.
initially said it would attempt another launch Sunday, before delaying the potential launch until at least Wednesday. Last month, trouble with a pressure relief valve in the Starliner's Atlas 5 rocket, along a helium leak in the capsule's propulsion module, scrubbed a May 6 launch attempt.
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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