China blasts rocket to mysterious far side of the Moon where it hopes to collect samples for the first time
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CHINA has successfully launched its Chang'e-6 spacecraft, as part of its mission to retrieve new samples from the Moon.
Now, operators on Earth must await confirmation of it reaching it's target destination: the far side of the Moon.
The mission will take 53 days and will be done completely through a relay satellite orbiting the moon.
Chang'e-6 is thought to be getting sent up to collect 2kg worth of rock and dirt samples from the surface of the moon.
Chang'e-6 will collect samples from the far side of the Moon for the first time.
Ge Ping, vice director of China's Lunar Exploration and Space Engineering Centre
It is expected to land in the Aitken Basin in the lunar south pole, which is some 2,500km (1,553 miles) wide and up to 8km (5 miles) deep.
The spacecraft is made up of four main components: a lunar orbiter, lander, ascender and reentry module.
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The orbiter and reentry module will stay in the Moon's orbit, while the lander and ascender go to the lunar surface.
The relay satellite will allows ground operators on Earth keep eyes on the spacecraft.
Once the lander gathers its samples, it will join the ascender to make it way back to the reentry module that will eventually bring it home to Earth.
Ge Ping, vice director of China's Lunar Exploration and Space Engineering Centre, told reporters ahead of the launch: "Chang'e-6 will collect samples from the far side of the Moon for the first time."
The three-part journey is intended to gather important data that will allow astronauts to return to the Moon by 2030.
Why the lunar south pole?
The lunar south pole has been a site of interest to all space-faring nations, including India, Russia, China and the US.
The south polar region is one of the Moon's most resource-dense areas.
Last year, India made history by becoming the first country to land near the southern site.
Just days before, Russia also made an attempt at a south pole touchdown, which ended in a crash landing.
Nasa's Artemis III mission is intended to explore a region near the lunar south pole.
The Artemis III mission forms parts of a decade-long programme that is hoped to culminate with a permanent lunar base by the end of the decade.
The south pole is, scientists believe, the most promising location for water-based ice, which will be key to future human habitation on the Moon.
Scientists also reckon there is an abundance of Helium-3 in so-called 'cold traps' littered across the south pole, which can help produce huge amounts of energy here on Earth.
If scientists are right, and there really is an abundance of Helium-3 on the Moon, humans could be able to use it as fuel for the next century.
