China wants to be the first in history to bring soil samples from the Moon's back side to Earth - mission planned for 2024

The Chinese National Space Administration has announced a mission that will bring soil samples from the back side of the Moon to Earth. So far, no one has been able to do it.

Here's What We Know

The Chinese mission is called Chang'e-6. It is scheduled for 2024. The automated station will land at the Moon's South Pole and end up in a huge crater. It is believed that here it will be able to obtain samples (about 2kg) ejected from the interior of the Moon as a result of a meteorite impact.

Scientists have already tested a method of providing the station with communications. For this purpose will be used satellite Queqiao-2, which will take on the role of a repeater. The technology was tested as part of the mission Chang'e-4 last year. It was then that China was able to land on the back side of the Moon for the first time in history.

The space agency's statement does not mention the launch date of the mission. According to preliminary data, it Chang'e-6 will start in May next year and will last for 53 days. By comparison, the Chang'e-5 mission took 22 days to deliver samples from the visible side of the moon.

Source: SpaceNews