Get all your news in one place.
100's of premium titles.
One app.
Start reading
Space
Space
Science
Leonard David

China's Chang'e 6 probe starts collecting 1st lunar far side samples to be brought to Earth

The moon's cratered surface as seen from a spacecraft preparing to land on it.

China's Chang'e-6 lunar mission has carried out a successful far side touchdown and is already busily gathering specimens for send-off to Earth.

The first batch of data has been relayed from the Chang'e 6 lander-ascender combination following its arrival on Sunday morning (Beijing Time). The landing was aided by China's newly positioned Queqiao-2 relay satellite to provide a stable communications link to mission controllers on Earth.

Sign up to read this article
Read news from 100's of titles, curated specifically for you.
Already a member? Sign in here
Related Stories
Top stories on inkl right now
One subscription that gives you access to news from hundreds of sites
Already a member? Sign in here
Our Picks
Fourteen days free
Download the app
One app. One membership.
100+ trusted global sources.