Hong Kong CNN —China’s Chang’e-6 lunar probe departed from the far side of the moon on Tuesday, moving a step closer to completing an ambitious mission that underlines the country’s rise as a space superpower. Its return journey to Earth is estimated to take about three weeks, with a landing expected in China’s Inner Mongolia region around June 25. “The lunar surface is rich in basalt,” Zhou added. It marked the second time a mission has successfully reached the far side of the moon, after China first completed that historic feat in 2019 with its Chang’e-4 probe. Last year, India landed a spacecraft on the moon for the first time, while Russia’s first lunar landing mission in decades ended in failure when its Luna 25 probe crashed into the moon’s surface.

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Persons: China’s, Bill Nelson, Nelson, –, “ zhong, CNSA, ”, Zhou Changyi, Zhou, James Head Organizations: Hong Kong CNN, Beijing, China National Space Administration, NASA, CNSA, Brown University, Luna Locations: Hong Kong, China, Mongolia, Aitken, India, Japan, Texas