The Chinese probe capsule Chang’e 6which began its mission almost two months ago to collect for the first time in history samples of the hidden face of the Moonlanded this Tuesday with its cargo in the northern Chinese region of Inner Mongolia.
The orbiter China released the reentry module with the samples from the lunar exploration project upon entering Earth’s orbit, before successfully reaching the planned area at 14:07 local time (06:07 GMT).
This mission makes China in the first country that has managed to collect lunar samples from the hidden side of the Earth’s natural satellite, in the race for conquest of space.
“At 13:41 (05:41 GMT), the return module of the Chang’e 6 entered the atmosphere at a speed of around 11.2 kilometers per second at an altitude of 120 kilometers above the Earth’s surface, at which time the deceleration maneuvers began, the National Space Administration of China (ANEC).
When the probe reached about 10 kilometers from the surface, the Chang’e 6 He opened the parachute, the last step of the speed reduction maneuver, which helped him maintain a stable altitude and land softly at the marked site.
After raising a flag of the Asian giant at the landing site in the Siziwang area (Inner Mongolia province), recovery teams began preparing the capsule for air transport to Beijing, where it will be opened to extract the collected samples.
“The lunar mission of Chang’e 6 has been successfully completed,” ANEC director Zhang Kejian announced at a press conference after landing.
The Chinese president, Xi Jinpingextended his congratulations for the “complete success of the mission” and highlighted “the effort of China to become a space and technological power”.
“During the last twenty years, everyone involved in the lunar exploration project has scaled the summits of science and technology, achieving outstanding advances that have captured global attention,” declared the Chinese president, according to the official Xinhua agency.
Chinathe only country that has so far landed on the moon on the far side of the Moonwill dedicate the next two missions Chang’e to the exploration of the south pole of the satellite, where it plans to build a scientific exploration base together with Russia.
The Chang’e 7 mission is scheduled to reach the south pole mole in 2026, where it will search for water ice deposits, while the Chang’e 8 In 2028, it will explore possible uses of the resources that its predecessor discovers and will lay the foundations for manned exploration, which the Chinese space program hopes to materialize around 2030.
Video: the takeoff of Chang’e 6 towards the Moon
Efe, Youtube.
