China’s Chang’e-6 lunar probe landed in the northern Chinese region of Inner Mongolia on Tuesday, making the country the first to return samples from the far side of the moon.
The return capsule landed at 2:07 pm Beijing time, according to state broadcaster CCTV, carrying lunar soil collected by the probe earlier this month after a successful landing on the moon’s South Pole-Aitken Basin, an impact crater on the moon’s side. the moon that always faces away from the earth.
Shortly after the capsule landed, Zhang Kejian, head of the China National Space Administration, announced the successful completion of the Chang’e-6 moon mission. Chinese leader Xi Jinping said the mission’s completion was a “landmark achievement” in China’s quest to become a space and scientific superpower.
