The Chang'e 6 lunar probe and the Long March-5 Y8 carrier rocket combination sit atop the launch pad at the Wenchang Space Launch Site in Hainan province, China. Reuters
The Chang'e 6 lunar probe and the Long March-5 Y8 carrier rocket combination sit atop the launch pad at the Wenchang Space Launch Site in Hainan province, China. Reuters
The Chang'e 6 lunar probe and the Long March-5 Y8 carrier rocket combination sit atop the launch pad at the Wenchang Space Launch Site in Hainan province, China. Reuters
The Chang'e 6 lunar probe and the Long March-5 Y8 carrier rocket combination sit atop the launch pad at the Wenchang Space Launch Site in Hainan province, China. Reuters

Chang'e-6: China to launch mission that will return soil samples from Moon's dark side


Sarwat Nasir
  • English
  • Arabic

China is preparing to launch a vehicle that would land on the Moon's dark side and then bring back soil samples.

The rocket for the Chang'e-6 mission was moved to the launch pad on Saturday for a blast off in early May, according to China's state news agency Xinhua. Some reports say that the date is May 3.

The mission will also carry technologies from Pakistan, Sweden, Italy and France.

“Like Chang'e 5, its predecessor, the Chang'e 6 spacecraft consists of four components – an orbiter, a lander, an ascender and a re-entry module,” the China National Space Administration (CNSA) said earlier this year.

“After the probe reaches lunar orbit, the components will separate into two parts, with the orbiter and re-entry module remaining in orbit while the lander and ascender head for the Moon's surface.

“The lander/ascender combination will make a soft landing and then start using a drill and a mechanical arm to gather lunar rocks and soil.”

The ascender rocket would then fly back to the lunar orbit to dock with the re-entry module and transfer the samples, so that it could be carried back to Earth.

If successful, China could become the first country to bring back samples from the Moon's far side – the side hidden from Earth.

China, the US and the former Soviet Union have been successful in the past in returning soil and rock samples from the Moon's near side – the part that faces Earth.

China was the most recent country to achieve the feat when it brought back 1.73kg of soil in 2020 from Oceanus Procellarum, a lunar mare (a flat, dark plain) on the western edge of the Moon.

The country was also the first to ever land a vehicle on the Moon's far side.

“Though the far side had been extensively photographed by spacecraft, starting with a Soviet probe in 1959, no probe had ever touched down on it until China's Chang'e 4 mission, which landed in the Von Karman crater in the South Pole-Aitken Basin in January 2019,” the CNSA said.

China is quickly emerging as a global space power, with its new space station called Tiangong that is in low-Earth orbit.

It also launches crewed and uncrewed mission on its domestically-built rockets, and has plans to build a research station on the lunar surface, called the International Lunar Research Station.

It is seeking international partners to develop the project, with Russia, Pakistan, Azerbaijan, South Africa, Venezuela, Belarus and Egypt already signed up.

China hopes to land humans on the lunar surface by the end of this decade.

The US has also renewed interest in exploring the Moon and is developing the Artemis and Lunar Gateway project.

It hopes to send humans back to the Moon within this decade through its Artemis programme.

Both countries are planning to explore the south pole region of the Moon.

During a hearing by the US House of Representatives' Committee on Science, Space and Technology in January, congress members said that it was important for their countrymen to be the first ones to land on the Moon.

“I remind my colleagues that we are not the only country interested in sending humans to the Moon,” committee chairman Frank Lucas said.

“The Chinese Communist Party is actively soliciting international partners for a lunar mission – a lunar research station – and has stated its ambition to have human astronauts on the surface by 2030.

“The country that lands first will have the ability to set a precedent for whether future lunar activities are conducted with openness and transparency, or in a more restricted manner.”

Results

3pm: Maiden Dh165,000 (Dirt) 1,400m, Winner: Lancienegaboulevard, Adrie de Vries (jockey), Fawzi Nass (trainer).

3.35pm: Maiden Dh165,000 (Turf) 1,600m, Winner: Al Mukhtar Star, Adrie de Vries, Fawzi Nass.

4.10pm: Handicap Dh165,000 (D) 2,000m, Winner: Gundogdu, Xavier Ziani, Salem bin Ghadayer.

4.45pm: Handicap Dh185,000 (T) 1,200m, Winner: Speedy Move, Sean Kirrane, Satish Seemar.

5.20pm: Handicap Dh185,000 (D) 1,600m, Winner: Moqarrar, Dane O’Neill, Erwan Charpy.

5.55pm: Handicap Dh175,000 (T) 1,800m, Winner: Dolman, Richard Mullen, Satish Seemar.

Despacito's dominance in numbers

Released: 2017

Peak chart position: No.1 in more than 47 countries, including the United States, the United Kingdom, Australia and Lebanon

Views: 5.3 billion on YouTube

Sales: With 10 million downloads in the US, Despacito became the first Latin single to receive Diamond sales certification

Streams: 1.3 billion combined audio and video by the end of 2017, making it the biggest digital hit of the year.

Awards: 17, including Record of the Year at last year’s prestigious Latin Grammy Awards, as well as five Billboard Music Awards

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What is the definition of an SME?

SMEs in the UAE are defined by the number of employees, annual turnover and sector. For example, a “small company” in the services industry has six to 50 employees with a turnover of more than Dh2 million up to Dh20m, while in the manufacturing industry the requirements are 10 to 100 employees with a turnover of more than Dh3m up to Dh50m, according to Dubai SME, an agency of the Department of Economic Development.

A “medium-sized company” can either have staff of 51 to 200 employees or 101 to 250 employees, and a turnover less than or equal to Dh200m or Dh250m, again depending on whether the business is in the trading, manufacturing or services sectors. 

Muslim Council of Elders condemns terrorism on religious sites

The Muslim Council of Elders has strongly condemned the criminal attacks on religious sites in Britain.

It firmly rejected “acts of terrorism, which constitute a flagrant violation of the sanctity of houses of worship”.

“Attacking places of worship is a form of terrorism and extremism that threatens peace and stability within societies,” it said.

The council also warned against the rise of hate speech, racism, extremism and Islamophobia. It urged the international community to join efforts to promote tolerance and peaceful coexistence.

Match info

UAE v Bolivia, Friday, 6.25pm, Maktoum bin Rashid Stadium, Dubai

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Roger Hunt 285
Mohamed Salah 250
Gordon Hodgson 241
Billy Liddell 228

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RESULT

Huddersfield Town 2 Manchester United 1
Huddersfield: Mooy (28'), Depoitre (33')
Manchester United: Rashford (78')

 

Man of the Match: Aaron Mooy (Huddersfield Town)

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Updated: April 30, 2024, 1:47 PM