Chang'e 6

Chang'e 6
The Chang'e 6 lander (with the ascender on top) on the far side of the Moon. The photo was taken from Jinchan, a camera-equipped mini-rover that was released from the lander.
Mission typeSurface sample return
OperatorCNSA
COSPAR ID2024-083A Edit this at Wikidata
SATCAT no.59627Edit this on Wikidata
Mission duration52 days, 20 hours and 39 minutes
Spacecraft properties
ManufacturerCAST
Launch mass8,350 kg (18,410 lb)[1]
Start of mission
Launch date3 May 2024 (2024-05-03)
09:27:29 UTC[2][3]
RocketLong March 5
Launch siteWenchang
End of mission
Landing date25 June 2024
06:07 UTC
Return capsule
Landing siteInner Mongolia, China
Lunar orbiter
Orbital insertion8 May 2024
02:12 UTC[4]
Orbital departure20 June 2024
~15:00 UTC
Orbital parameters
Periapsis altitude220 km (140 mi)
Inclination137°
Lunar lander
Landing date1 June 2024
22:23:16 UTC[5][6]
Return launch3 June 2024
23:38:10 UTC[7]
Landing siteSouthern mare of Apollo Basin
41°38′19″S 153°59′07″W / 41.6385°S 153.9852°W / -41.6385; -153.9852[8][9]
Sample mass1,935.3 g (68.27 oz)[10][11]
Jinchan Lunar rover
Landing date1 June 2024
22:23:16 UTC[5][6]
Landing siteSouthern mare of Apollo Basin[8]
Docking with Sample Ascender
Docking date6 June 2024
06:48 UTC[12]
Undocking date6 June 2024
 
Chang'e probes

Chang'e 6 (Chinese: 嫦娥六号; pinyin: Cháng'é liùhào) was the sixth robotic lunar exploration mission by the China National Space Administration (CNSA) and the second CNSA lunar sample-return mission. Like its predecessors in the Chinese Lunar Exploration Program, the spacecraft is named after the Chinese moon goddess Chang'e. It was humanity's first lunar mission to retrieve samples from the far side of the Moon, as all previous collective sample-return missions were done from the near side.[13]

The mission began on 3 May 2024 when the spacecraft was launched from Wenchang Space Launch Site on Hainan Island. Its lander and rover touched down on the lunar far side on 1 June 2024.[14][5] The lander's robotic scoop and drill took samples with a total mass of 1935.3 grams from the lunar surface; the ascender module then carried these into lunar orbit on 3 June 2024.[15] [11] The ascender docked with the orbiter module in lunar orbit on 6 June 2024 and transferred the samples to an atmospheric re-entry module which then returned to Earth. The mission's lander and rover also conducted scientific experiments on the lunar surface.

The overall mission lasted about 53 days, ending on 25 June 2024 with the return capsule re-entering the atmosphere with the samples, landing by parachute in Inner Mongolia.[16]

  1. ^ "Historic journey from Chang'e 6 lifts off". China National Space Administration. 3 May 2024. Archived from the original on 3 May 2024. Retrieved 3 May 2024.
  2. ^ Jones, Andrew (10 January 2024). "China's Chang'e-6 probe arrives at spaceport for first-ever lunar far side sample mission". SpaceNews. Archived from the original on 3 May 2024. Retrieved 10 January 2024.
  3. ^ "Long March 5 – Chang'e 6". nextspaceflight.com. Archived from the original on 29 April 2024. Retrieved 3 May 2024.
  4. ^ "嫦娥六号探测器成功实施近月制动顺利进入环月轨道飞行" (in Simplified Chinese). 中国新闻网. 8 May 2024. Archived from the original on 8 May 2024. Retrieved 8 May 2024.
  5. ^ a b c Jones, Andrew (1 June 2024). "Chang'e-6 lands on far side of the moon to collect unique lunar samples". SpaceNews. Archived from the original on 2 June 2024. Retrieved 1 June 2024.
  6. ^ a b Seger Yu [@SegerYu] (1 June 2024). "落月时刻 2024-06-02 06:23:15.861" (Tweet) (in Chinese) – via Twitter.
  7. ^ Cite error: The named reference Reuters-20240603 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  8. ^ a b "大陸「嫦娥六號」明年5月發射 擬帶回月球背面岩石採樣" (in Traditional Chinese). 聯合報. 25 April 2023. Archived from the original on 25 April 2023. Retrieved 25 April 2023.
  9. ^ "First Look: Chang'e 6". Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter Camera. 14 June 2024. Archived from the original on 14 June 2024. Retrieved 15 June 2024.
  10. ^ "新华社权威快报丨嫦娥六号带回世界首份月背样品1935.3克" (in Simplified Chinese). 新华网. 28 June 2024. Retrieved 28 June 2024.
  11. ^ a b huaxia (28 June 2024). "China's Chang'e-6 collects 1,935.3 grams of samples from moon's far side". Xinhua News Agency. Archived from the original on 28 June 2024. Retrieved 28 June 2024.
  12. ^ Cite error: The named reference dock was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  13. ^ Rahul Rao (25 June 2024). "China's Chang'e 6 probe will soon bring samples of the moon's far side to Earth — and scientists are getting excited". Space.com. Archived from the original on 25 June 2024. Retrieved 25 June 2024.
  14. ^ "嫦娥六号着陆器和上升器合影来了!". CNSA. Archived from the original on 4 June 2024. Retrieved 9 June 2024.
  15. ^ Jones, Andrew (10 January 2024). "China's Chang'e-6 probe arrives at spaceport for first-ever lunar far side sample mission". SpaceNews. Archived from the original on 3 May 2024. Retrieved 25 June 2024.
  16. ^ Cite error: The named reference :1 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).