Two kilos of rocks were brought to Earth from the far side of the Moon

Inner Mongolia received some rare material from the sky on Tuesday morning.

The return probe of the Chinese probe Chang’e 6 brought rock samples to Earth for the first time from the far side of the Moon. That is, from the side that is never visible to Earth.

The return capsule of Chang’e 6 landed in China’s Inner Mongolia autonomous region on Tuesday after 8 am Finnish time.

The cargo is estimated to be around two kilos. The capsule will soon be opened in a clean room in Beijing. Then the stones and dust start to be distributed to the researchers.

Lunar more than 380 kilograms of rocks have been brought to Earth from the Moon, the first samples already in the late 1960s. However, not even a gram has been brought from the far side of the Moon before this.

In early June, the Chang’e 6 lander lifted rocks and dust from the soil on the far side of the Moon using a small bucket and a drill.

They were transferred to the tank for the return trip. The lander’s rocket moved the reservoir rocks into lunar orbit.

From there, the stones were transferred to the waiting return probe for the journey towards Earth. The tortuous transfer of the stones was successful, and the stones are now on Earth after a 53-day journey to the moon.

China did not bring stones to Earth for the first time. He brought moon rocks to Earth already Chang’e 5 in December 2020, albeit just a little bit. The cargo collected from the visible side of the moon weighed only about 1.7 kilograms at the time.

Before China and Chang’e 6, the United States and Russia’s predecessor, the Soviet Union, brought rocks from the Moon to Earth.

I heard it Chang’e 6 was launched from China towards the Moon on May 3. It made a controlled landing on the Moon’s chamber on June 1.

The target was the Apollo Crater. It is located near the South Pole of the Moon in a large area called the South Pole–Aitken Basin.

It is approximately 2,500 kilometers in diameter. It is mostly on the far side of the Moon, says website Space.com.

Lunar the reverse side was already described by the Soviet Union Luna 3 in 1959.

The picture was blurry, but even then we were surprised by the fact that the reverse side of the Moon looks completely different from the side that is visible to Earth. It is very jagged, and there are few smooth surfaces.

Researchers still want to find out why this is so. However, the far side of the moon is difficult to study.

For the landing, China needed a satellite that transmits data to Earth. China has already sent two such satellites around the Moon.

Rocks brought back by Chang’e 6 may help answer tantalizing questions about the moon’s history. The history of the Earth and our entire solar system may also become more clear.

Change’n 6:n target ie South Pole-Aitken Basin for example, formed an estimated 4.26 billion years ago.

That large area was formed only a few hundred million years after many asteroids and rocks hit the Moon and Earth during the supposed “heavy bombardment”.

With the help of stones, we can perhaps get an exact timing for the birth of the basin and also for the craters born inside it. With the help of information, we can better understand the history of the Moon.

This is what the Planetary Society, a non-profit association, stated before the flight about the Chang’e 6 mission.

The information can also affect how the origin of life on Earth is understood.

Asteroids once brought to Earth not only water, but also organic material. Amino acids, which are the building blocks of life, have been found on the surface of asteroids.

CHang’e 6 was China’s second flight to the far side of the Moon.

In January 2019 Chang’e 4 landed to the reverse side. It launched a small rover, Yutu 2, onto the surface of the Moon. It’s still sending data.

The plans for a rising space power on the Moon do not stop there. China is planning Chang’e 7 for 2026. Chang’e 8 is scheduled to lift off towards the Moon in 2028.

With the flights, China aims to prepare the construction of a base on the Moon. China plans to build it near the Moon’s south pole in the 2030s.

China’s space pilots, who have also been called magic astronauts, would land on the moon before then. The target is before 2030.

Correction Wednesday, June 26 at 2:00 p.m.: The dark side of the title has been changed to the reverse side. China used to import 1.7 kilograms of moonstone, not 1.7 grams. The Aitken Basin has been changed to the South Pole-Aitken Basin.