Beijing is moving forward with an ambitious program that aims to send a crewed lunar mission by 2030, and on Friday it will launch a probe to gather samples from the far side of the Moon, a first for the world.
Just before 5:30 p.m. (0930 GMT), a rocket carrying the Chang’e-6 lunar probe is expected to take off from the Wenchang Space Launch Center in the Hainan province of southern China, according to officials.
This represents the most recent development in China’s vast space program, which the United States has expressed concern is being used to conceal military goals and an attempt to establish extraterrestrial dominance.
The Chang’e-6 aims to collect around two kilograms of lunar samples from the far side of the Moon and bring them back to Earth for analysis.
It is a technically complex 53-day mission that will also see it attempt an unprecedented launch from the side of the Moon that always faces away from Earth.
“Chang’e-6 will collect samples from the far side of the Moon for the first time,” Ge Ping, vice director of China’s Lunar Exploration and Space Engineering Center, told journalists.
The probe is set to land in the immense South Pole-Aitken Basin, one of the largest known impact craters in the solar system.
Once there, it will scoop up lunar soil and rocks, and carry out other experiments in the landing zone.
It must then lift off from the Moon’s surface and retrace its steps back home.
Space dream
Plans for China’s “space dream” have been put into overdrive under President Xi Jinping.
Beijing has ploughed huge resources into its space programme over the last decade, targeting a string of ambitious undertakings in an effort to close the gap with the two traditional space powers — the United States and Russia.
The country has notched several notable achievements, including building a space station called Tiangong, or “heavenly palace”, to which it sent a fresh crew of three astronauts last month.
Beijing has landed robotic rovers on Mars and the Moon, making China only the third country to put humans in orbit independently.
China aims to send a crewed mission to the Moon by 2030 and plans to build a base on the lunar surface.
The United States is also planning to put astronauts back on the Moon by 2026 with its Artemis 3 mission.
The rapid advance of China’s space programme has raised alarm bells in Washington, with the head of NASA warning last month that the US was now in a “race” against Beijing.
“We believe that a lot of their so-called civilian space program is a military program,” NASA administrator Bill Nelson told lawmakers on Capitol Hill.
Dark side of the Moon
China plans three high-wire unmanned lunar missions this decade, the first of which is Chang’e-6.
Chang’e-8, its replacement, will try to determine whether it is technically feasible to construct the International Lunar Research Station; Beijing has stated that a “basic model” will be finished by 2030. Chang’e-7 will search the lunar south pole for water.
Scientists claim that because the Moon’s craters are less covered in old lava flows than the near side, its dark side—so-called because it is invisible from Earth rather than because it never receives sunlight—holds enormous research potential.
This may indicate that gathering evidence that clarifies the Moon’s initial formation is now more feasible.
“The samples collected by Chang’e-6 will have a geological age of approximately 4 billion years,” Ge said.
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