China successfully launches probe mission to get moon's far side samples, Pakistani satellite also aboard

In a first, Chang'e-6, China’s unscrewed spacecraft for lunar probe mission, was on Friday, successfully launched to collect samples from the far side of the moon.

Reportedly, the Long March-5, China's largest rocket, blasted off at 5:27 p.m. Beijing time (0927 GMT) from Wenchang Space Launch Center on the southern island province of Hainan.

Chang'e-6 is expected to land in the South Pole-Aitken Basin on the far side of the moon, which perpetually faces away from the Earth, after which it will retrieve and return samples.

The Chang'e-6 mission is tasked with collecting and then returning samples from the moon's far side to Earth -- the first endeavour of its kind in the history of human lunar exploration, China National Space Administration (CNSA) said.

Chang'e 6 consists of four components: an orbiter, a lander, an ascender and a re-entry module, according to CNSA. After collecting dust and rocks on the moon, the ascender will transport the samples to the lunar orbiter for transfer to the re-entry module, which will carry them back to Earth.

The Chinese mission is also carrying Pakistan's miniature satellite, ICUBE-QAMAR cubesat, developed by the Institute of Space Technology (IST) in collaboration with Shanghai University SJTU and SUPARCO. Around 7 kgs in weight, ICUBE-Q orbiter carries two optical cameras to image the lunar surface.

According to the CNSA statement, Scientific instruments from France, Italy and the European Space Agency/Sweden will be on board the lander of the Chang'e-6 mission and a Pakistani payload on the orbiter. The Chang'e lunar exploration probe is named after the Chinese mythical moon goddess.

Previously, Chang’e 5 brought samples from the moon's near side. Chinese said, the analysis of the samples found, contained water in tiny beads embedded in lunar dirt. China also plans to have a lunar station on the moon in future.

China in the past has successfully launched unmanned missions to the moon, including landing a rover. 
Considered a major space power, the country had sent a rover to Mars and built a space station, which is currently in operation. China has also announced plans for a manned lunar landing by 2030.

India became the first country to land near the little-explored lunar south pole region last year when its Chandrayaan-3's lander, carrying the Pragyaan rover successfully landed there.
 

(with PTI inputs)