China's Chang'e 6 mission brings back first samples from far side of moon

China’s Chang’e 6 spacecraft made history today after it successfully landed on Earth with the first lunar samples – 4.4 pounds of them – from the far side of the moon.

The uncrewed craft carried bits of lunar rock and soil scraped from the Apollo Basin crater in the moon’s South Pole-Aitken Basin.

Chang'e 6 left moon orbit on June 20 with the opening of the orbital transfer window, the best time to return to Earth. The craft landed by parachute in inner Mongolia on Tuesday.

The samples will be the first from the moon’s far side, the one that always faces away from Earth, to be analyzed.

Researchers hope the samples will provide clues why the two sides of the moon are so different, according to sciencenews.org.

What is the Chang'e 6 mission?

The spacecraft has two modules: an orbiter and a lander. The lander separated from the orbiter after the craft achieved lunar orbit and soft-landed on the moon's surface. Here's an overview of its return to Earth:

The lander used a variety of tools, including a drill and a scoop, to retrieve the samples over two days. It then lifted off from the surface and docked with the orbiter. The lunar samples were transferred to the orbiter, which will rocket back to Earth.

How long was the Chang'e 6 mission?

In all, from launch to capsule return, the mission will have returned the sample in 54 days. Here's a look at key events on the mission timeline:

Why the excitement over samples from the far side?

The samples, the first gathered from the far side of the moon, may give researchers new information on how the moon was formed and why the moon’s two sides are sodifferent.

The American Geophysical Union released a study in May 2019 that suggested the hemispheric differences were caused by a dwarf planet that collided with the moon in the early history of the solar system. The collision could have given the far side an extra layer on its crust.

Source: USA TODAY Network reporting and research; NASA; space.com; China National Space Administration; Arizona State University, School of Earth and Space Exploration; Reuters