China’s planned 53-day mission would see the Chang’e-6 lander touch down in a gaping crater on the moon’s far side, which never faces Earth.
China became the first and only country to land on the moon’s far side during its 2019 Chang’e-4 mission.
Ambitious missionThe Chang’e-6 probe will be a key test for China’s space capabilities in its effort to realize leader Xi Jinping’s “eternal dream” of building the country into a space power.
This time, to communicate with Earth from the moon’s far side, Chang’e-6 must rely on the Queqiao-2 satellite, launched into lunar orbit in March.
This time, China has said the Chang’e-6 mission will carry scientific instruments or payloads from France, Italy, Pakistan and the European Space Agency.
Persons:
China’s, “, Ge Ping, Xi Jinping’s, James Head, Luo Yunfei, Bill Nelson, –, ” Nelson
Organizations:
Hong Kong CNN, China, Space Administration’s, of Lunar Exploration, Space Engineering, Brown University, China News Service, Luna, NASA, European Space Agency
Locations:
China, Hong Kong, Hainan, United States, Russia, Chang’e, India, Japan, Texas, France, Italy, Pakistan