The Chang'e-6 mission of the fourth phase of the lunar exploration project is scheduled to be launched from 17 o'clock to 18 o'clock today, and the preferred launch window is aimed at 17:27.
So far, the samples brought back from the moon all over the world are from the front side of the moon, and what exactly the lunar soil on the far side of the moon looks like has aroused the curiosity of scientists around the world. In order to find out, Chang'e-6 will be the first to eat crabs on this mission.
In order to bring back samples from the far side of the moon, scientists designed an 11-stage mission for Chang'e-6.
China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation Lu Yuntong:
- First, it was launched into orbit on the Long March 5 carrier rocket and entered the process of going to the moon.
- Arriving near the Moon, we hit the brakes and enter orbit around the Moon, and the entire probe flew around the Moon.
- During the flight, the lander and ascender combination landed on the far side of the moon at the right time.
- After sampling on the back of the moon, the ascender takes off from the far side of the moon with the collected lunar soil, rendezvous and docks with the orbit-return assembly, and transmits the lunar samples to the returner.
- After that, it will return to Earth and re-enter the atmosphere in a semi-ballistic jump manner, returning to the landing site of our country's Siziwang Banner.
The Chang'e-6 mission will continue to use the Chang'e-5 collection method, using two sampling methods, drill and surface sampling, to obtain samples at different levels and depths, and carry out scientific exploration simultaneously on the far side of the moon.
Hu Zhenyu, head of the engineering and technical group of the overall launch site of the Chang'e-6 mission project: The Aitken Basin in the South Pole is one of the three major bodies on the moon and the oldest and deepest impact crater basin on the moon, which has important scientific research value. Chang'e-6 carried out on-site investigation and analysis of the landing area on the far side of the moon, obtained lunar samples, and analyzed the structure, physical properties and material composition of lunar soil in different regions and ages in the laboratory, which is of great significance for mankind to have a more comprehensive understanding of the moon and deepen the research on the origin and evolution of the moon, planetary evolution and the origin of the solar system.