China Releases: Chang'e 6 Returns Safely Home! Lunar Express Delivery Has Arrived

China.org.cn, June 25th - Around 2:00 PM on June 25th, the Chang'e 6 lunar return vehicle accurately landed in the designated area of the Siziwang Banner in Inner Mongolia. This marks the first time in human history that samples have been collected from the far side of the moon and returned, representing another landmark achievement for China in building a strong space and technology nation.

It is understood that Chang'e 6 was originally a backup for Chang'e 5 and was given a new mission after the success of Chang'e 5, which was to go to the far side of the moon to collect lunar samples and bring them back to Earth.

The Chang'e 6 probe development team from the China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation's Fifth Academy introduced that to retrieve the "cosmic express," Chang'e 6 had to accurately perform five movements: "go, down, up, return, and enter." The orbiter is mainly responsible for "going and returning," flying to the moon and back to Earth; the lander is mainly responsible for "descending," landing on the far side of the moon and collecting samples; the ascender is mainly responsible for "ascending," carrying the collected samples and flying from the far side of the moon; the returner is mainly responsible for "entering," carrying the lunar soil and re-entering the Earth. Among them, the orbiter not only escorts a large amount of payload to the moon to collect soil but also accurately completes the "air relay" of lunar samples and is a veritable "Earth-Moon bus."

At 5:27 PM on May 3, 2024, the Chang'e 6 probe was launched by the Long March 5 Y8 carrier rocket at the Wenchang Spacecraft Launch Site in China and accurately entered the Earth-Moon transfer orbit, achieving a complete success in the launch mission. Subsequently, after nearly a month of lunar braking, the separation of the lander and ascender combination and the orbiter and returner combination, it successfully landed in the pre-selected landing area of the South Pole-Aitken Basin on the far side of the moon on June 2nd.

From June 2nd to 3rd, Chang'e 6 successfully completed the intelligent and rapid sampling of the far side of the moon in the South Pole-Aitken Basin, and the precious samples from the far side of the moon were sealed and stored in the storage device carried by the ascender in the predetermined form. During the sampling and packaging process, scientific researchers in the ground laboratory, based on the probe data returned by the Queqiao 2 relay satellite, simulated the geological model of the sampling area and simulated sampling, providing important support for sampling decisions and various operational links.

The image of the national flag display on the surface of the moon by Chang'e 6. Photo source: China National Space Administration.

On June 4th, the Chang'e 6 ascender carrying lunar samples took off from the far side of the moon, and the 3000N engine worked for about 6 minutes, successfully sending the ascender into the predetermined lunar orbit. After the surface sampling was completed, the Five-Star Red Flag carried by the Chang'e 6 lander successfully unfolded on the far side of the moon. This is the first time China has independently displayed the national flag on the far side of the moon. The national flag is made of new composite materials and special processes. Due to the different landing positions, the national flag display system of Chang'e 6 has been adaptively improved based on the Chang'e 5 mission.

At 2:48 PM on June 6th, the Chang'e 6 ascender successfully completed the lunar orbit rendezvous and docking with the orbiter and returner combination, and at 3:24 PM, the lunar sample container was safely transferred to the returner. This is the second time after Chang'e 5 that China's spacecraft has achieved lunar orbit rendezvous and docking.

At around 1:22 PM on June 25th, the Beijing Aerospace Flight Control Center injected high-precision navigation parameters into the Chang'e 6 orbiter and returner combination through the ground measurement and control station. After that, the orbiter and returner normally unlocked and separated at an altitude of about 5000 kilometers above the South Atlantic sea level, and the orbiter completed the planned orbit avoidance maneuver. At around 2:00 PM, the Chang'e 6 returner accurately landed in the designated area of the Siziwang Banner in Inner Mongolia.

It is understood that since 1999, this is the 19th manned and unmanned return capsule search and recovery mission executed by the air team. Some experts have pointed out that the lunar soil brought back by the Chang'e 6 detector is located in the South Pole-Aitken Basin area on the far side of the moon, which is the oldest and largest meteorite impact crater on the moon. Collecting and analyzing samples from this area will fill the gap in obtaining samples from the far side of the moon, opening up a new perspective on the important scientific research of the evolution differences between the front and back of the moon, the evolution of the electromagnetic field, and the evolution of the Earth's atmosphere.

Mao Ning, the spokesperson for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, once said at a regular press conference of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs that this is a historic step in China's space exploration and also a historic step in the peaceful use of outer space by mankind. "Understanding and exploring the universe is the common dream of all mankind, and the peaceful use of outer space will promote the common well-being of all mankind. We are willing to carry out in-depth international exchange and cooperation in the field of spaceflight on the basis of equality and mutual benefit, peaceful use, and inclusive development, share development achievements with all countries, and jointly explore the mysteries of the universe." said Mao Ning.