China to send mission to far side of moon next year

The Chang'e 6 mission, China's next robotic expedition to the moon, has been scheduled to land on the moon next year, tasked with bringing back samples from the silver celestial body's little-known far side, according to the China National Space Administration, Report informs referring to China Daily.

So far, the Chang'e 6 project has progressed smoothly as per the plan, the administration said in a news release on Friday.

To facilitate the communications between the Chang'e 6 probe and Earth, a new relay satellite named Queqiao 2 is set to be deployed in a lunar orbit in the first half of 2024, it noted.

The Chang'e 6 spacecraft will consist of four components – orbiter, lander, ascender and re-entry module.

If everything goes according to plan, it will touch down in the South Pole-Aitken Basin.

The mission will involve an on-site investigation on the far side of the moon, the retrieval of samples, and systematic and long-term laboratory research on samples collected.

If the mission succeeds, it will become the first time for man to get samples from the far side.