The Chang’e 6 spacecraft has completed a flawless journey, reports the Chinese space agency. On Tuesday morning Norwegian time, the soft landing part of the vessel in China. Well protected inside a capsule lay some of the moon’s back side. It is material the researchers have never before been able to study. Much has been retrieved from the moon before, but everything has come from the front of the moon. The part that we can see from Earth. TWO KILO MOON: The capsule was badly burned during the violent encounter with the Earth’s atmosphere. The samples were well protected. Photo: Bei He / AP Complicated exercise Chang’e 6 was launched from Earth on May 3. It reached the moon after a five-day journey. There it split into two parts. One part landed on the moon. The other remained in the room. ROBOT: Here parts of the samples are taken from the surface. All commands to the lander had to go through a satellite orbiting the moon. Photo: Jin Liwang / AP The lander used various tools to collect about two kilograms of material. This was placed in a rocket that was on top of the lander. The rocket went into space and connected to the “mother vessel” which took over the samples. This craft headed for Earth. Just before it arrived, it released a capsule containing the samples. This capsule landed by parachute on the ground. TWO SIDES: On the left is the part of the moon we see from Earth. The second part is noticeably different. Photo: Nasa/JPL A strange side The back of the moon looks different from the front. The researchers don’t quite know why. The front has large dark areas. It is solidified lava. The back has several craters. The thickness of the “crust” is also different. It is, on average, much thicker at the back. DIFFERENT THICKNESS: The hidden side of the moon is on the right of the picture. Measurements show that the earth’s crust on that side is, on average, several kilometers thicker. Photo: Nasa/JPL/Grail There are several possible explanations. One of them has gained many followers. It is about, among other things, that the moon got a bound rotation to the earth when it was formed. The moon has always shown the same side to the earth. This has led to the difference between the sides, many researchers now believe. They still lack data to be sure. The Chinese can now help them with that. Perhaps from the moon’s interior, Chang’e 6 landed in a large crater where the crust is very thin or completely blown away in the explosion. It provides opportunities. In the samples now on Earth, there may be parts of the mantle itself. The chemical composition of the mantle can provide important information. Both about the actual formation of the moon, but also about why the two sides are so different. The first samples from the backside of the moon can also provide a lot of other important information. Ambitions Who will be allowed to study the samples from the moon is unclear. The samples the Chinese took from the front of the moon in 2020 they shared with international scientists. It has not been communicated whether the same will happen this time. China has big plans for the moon. The goal is to establish a base at the moon’s south pole. There are most likely resources that can be used both to maintain the base and to explore other parts of the solar system. Are you interested in more content from news’s foreign affairs department? Listen to this: Published 25.06.2024, at 13.27
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Chinese spacecraft retrieved samples from the backside of the moon – news Urix – Foreign news and documentaries
