Chang'e 6 Explained

Chang'e 6
Mission Type:	Surface sample return
Operator:	CNSA
Manufacturer:	CAST
Launch Mass:	^[1]
Launch Date:	09:27:29 UTC^[2] ^[3]
Launch Rocket:	Long March 5
Launch Site:	Wenchang
Landing Date:	25 June 2024 06:07 UTC Return capsule
Landing Site:	Inner Mongolia, China
Interplanetary:	Type: orbiter Arrival Date: 8 May 2024 02:12 UTC^[4] Departure Date: 20 June 2024 ~15:00 UTC Inclination: 137° Type: lander Location: Southern mare of Apollo Basin ^[5] ^[6] Arrival Date: 1 June 2024 22:23:16 UTC^[7] Sample Mass: ^[8] ^[9] Type: rover Docking Target: Sample Ascender Docking Type: dock Undocking Date: 6 June 2024
Programme:	Chinese Lunar Exploration Program
Previous Mission:	Queqiao-2
Next Mission:	Chang'e 7
Previous Mission2:	Chang'e 5
Next Mission2:	Chang'e 7
Programme2:	Chang'e probes

Chang'e 6 was the sixth robotic lunar exploration mission by the China National Space Administration (CNSA) and the second CNSA lunar sample-return mission. Like its predecessors in the Chinese Lunar Exploration Program, the spacecraft is named after the Chinese moon goddess Chang'e. It was humanity's first lunar mission to retrieve samples from the far side of the Moon, as all previous collective sample-return missions were done from the near side.^[10]

The mission began on 3 May 2024 when the spacecraft was launched from Wenchang Space Launch Site on Hainan Island. Its lander and rover touched down on the lunar far side on 1 June 2024.^{[11] [12]} The lander's robotic scoop and drill took samples with a total mass of 1935.3 grams from the lunar surface; the ascender module then carried these into lunar orbit on 3 June 2024.^[13] The ascender docked with the orbiter module in lunar orbit on 6 June 2024 and transferred the samples to an atmospheric re-entry module which then returned to Earth. The mission's lander and rover also conducted scientific experiments on the lunar surface.

The overall mission lasted about 53 days, ending on 25 June 2024 with the return capsule re-entering the atmosphere with the samples, landing by parachute in Inner Mongolia.

Overview

See also: Lunar south pole and far side of the Moon.

The Chinese Lunar Exploration Program is designed to be conducted in four^[14] phases of incremental technological advancement:

• The goal of the first phase was to reach lunar orbit. This was completed by Chang'e 1 in 2007 and by Chang'e 2 in 2010.
• The second phase sought to land and rove on the Moon, a feat that was accomplished by Chang'e 3 in 2013 and by Chang'e 4 in 2019.
• The third phase involves the collection of lunar samples and sending them to Earth, first completed by Chang'e 5 in 2020 and, for the first time from the far side by Chang'e 6 in 2024.
• The fourth phase consists of the development of a robotic research station near the Moon's south pole.^{[15] [16]} The program aims to facilitate crewed lunar landings in the 2030s and possibly build a crewed outpost near the lunar south pole.^[17]

The preceding Chang'e 5 mission returned of material from the northern hemisphere of the lunar near side.

The Chang'e 6 mission landed on the southern hemisphere of the lunar far side to gather more material. Specifically, the landing segment of the Chang'e 6 mission touched down in a relatively flat area lying in the southern portion of the Apollo crater, which itself lies within the larger South Pole-Aitken (SPA) impact basin on the lunar far side. Scientists hope that the samples collected from the landing area may include lunar mantle material ejected by the original impact that created the SPA basin, material which can shed light on the differences that exist between the lunar near-side and far-side, and on the origin of the Moon and the Solar System.

The Chang'e 6 lander landed at 22:23 UTC on 1 June 2024 in the southern mare of Apollo Basin (lunar coordinates:).^[18] After the completion of sample collection and the placement of the sample on the ascender by the probe's robotic drill and robotic arm, the ascender took off from atop the lander portion of the probe at 23:38 UTC on 3 June 2024.^{[19] [20]} The ascender docked with the Chang'e 6 service module (the orbiter) in lunar orbit at 06:48 UTC on 6 June 2024 and subsequently completed the transfer of the sample container to the Earth return module at 07:24 UTC on the same day.^[21] On 25 June 2024, the return capsule landed in Inner Mongolia.

The mission's lander collected of lunar far-side material including surface soil and rocks (using a scoop) and subsurface samples (using a drill). With the return capsule's re-entry back to Earth, China became the first nation to bring back samples from the far side of the Moon.^[22]

The hole left by the sampling was in the shape of the character zhong (中) which is the initial character of China's name Zhōngguó . This symbolism went viral on Weibo.^[23]

Mission architecture

Chang'e 6 was built as a copy of and backup to Chang'e 5.^[24] The mission is reported to consist of four modules:

• Lander: landed on the lunar surface after separating from the Orbiter, equipped with a drill and a scooping device. The Ascender was on the top of the Lander. It collected about of samples from 2m (07feet) below the surface^[25] and placed them in the attached ascent vehicle to be launched into lunar orbit.
• Ascender: The ascent vehicle then made a fully autonomous and robotic Lunar orbit rendezvous and docking with Orbiter where the samples were robotically transferred into a sample-return capsule for their delivery to Earth.^{[26] [27]}
• Orbiter: after the samples were transported from the Ascender to the Orbiter, the Orbiter left lunar orbit and spent ~4.5 days flying back to Earth orbit and released the Returner (reentry capsule) just before arrival.
• Returner: The Returner will perform a skip reentry to bounce off the atmosphere once before formal reentering.

The estimated launch mass is —the lander is projected to be and the ascent vehicle is about .^{[28] [26] [29]}

Science payloads

In October 2018, CNSA announced that it would call for international partners to propose an additional payload up to to be included in this mission.^[30] In November 2022, it was announced that the mission would carry payloads from four international partners:^{[31] [32]}

Lander

• A French instrument called DORN (Detection of Outgassing Radon) to study the transport of lunar dust and other volatiles between the lunar regolith and the lunar exosphere, including the water cycle.^[33]
• The Italian instrument INRRI (INstrument for landing-Roving laser Retroreflector Investigations) consists of a retroreflector that precisely measures distances from the lander to orbit,^[34] similar to those used in the Schiaparelli and InSight missions.
• The Swedish NILS (Negative Ions on Lunar Surface), an instrument to detect and measure negative ions reflected by the lunar surface.^[35]

Orbiter

• The Pakistani ICUBE-Q CubeSat orbiter developed by the Institute of Space Technology in collaboration with Shanghai Jiao Tong University, which carries two optical cameras to image the lunar surface and obtain lunar magnetic field data.^{[36] [37]}

Jinchan mini-rover

Chang'e 6 carried a ~5kg (~11lb) mini-rover named "Jinchan" (Chinese: 金蟾), or "Golden Toad," due to its gold-sheeted insulating exterior. It is described as an "autonomous intelligent mini-robot" by its developer, CASC.^[38] Outfitted with its own micro solar panels, the rover was designed to support research into the composition of the lunar surface, the presence of water ice in the lunar soil via an imaging infrared spectrometer.^[39] Additionally, Jinchan was tasked to image the Chang'e 6 lander on the lunar surface and was equipped cameras on both sides for redundancy purposes. Following the sample collection process, "the mini rover autonomously detached from the lander, moved to a suitable position, selected an ideal angle for the photograph and then captured the image."^[40]

Mission stages

Launch

The probe was launched by a Long March 5 rocket at 09:27 UTC, on 3 May 2024, from Wenchang Satellite Launch Center on Hainan Island.^{[41] [42]}

Earth–Moon transfer

After launch, Chang'e 6 entered a 12-hour orbit around the Moon at 02:12 UTC, on 8 May 2024.^[4]

The lander/ascender/rover separated from the orbiter/returner on 30 May 2024, in preparation for landing.

Landing

At 22:06 UTC, on 1 June 2024, the Chang'e 6 lander/ascender, with the support of the Queqiao-2 relay satellite, descended from its 200 kilometer (124 miles) orbit altitude.^[43] It used its autonomous obstacle avoidance system, visible light camera, and laser 3D scanner to detect and avoid lunar obstacles and uneven terrain. At 22:23 UTC, it landed in the preselected area of the South Pole–Aitken basin on the far side of the Moon.^[44] The engine was cut for the final approach and a cushioning system was used for the freefall touchdown.

Return

At 23:38 UTC on 3 June 2024, the Chang'e 6 ascender (carrying the samples) took off from the far side of the Moon and entered the predetermined circumlunar orbit. This was the world's first sampling and takeoff on the far side of the Moon.^{[45] [46]}

At 06:48 UTC on 6 June, 2024, the Chang'e 6 ascender rendezvoused and docked with the orbiter/returner in lunar orbit. At 07:24 UTC, the lunar sample container was safely transferred to the returner.^[47]

On 21 June 2024, the service module of Chang'e 6 likely fired its engines to return to Earth from lunar orbit. CNSA has not provided an updates on the mission. Some amateur optical and radio observers reported a probable engine burning.^[48]

The re-entry to earth happened on 25 June 2024. An atmospheric re-entry module of about 300 kilograms separated from the service module which had flown back from the Moon. This then decelerated by skipping off the atmosphere over the Atlantic before its final descent. This capsule containing about 2 kilograms of samples landed by parachute at 06:07 UTC in the predesignated landing area of Siziwang Banner in Inner Mongolia. Search teams waiting for the capsule reached it within minutes using helicopters.^[49] The service module likely fired its engine for an Earth-impact avoidance burn.

The samples will be studied by Chinese scientists in collaboration with international experts. In the previous case of Chang'e 5 in 2020, direct access to samples by international partners started about three years after their return.

See also

• List of missions to the Moon
• Lunar resources
• Lunar water
• Chang'e 7
• Changesite-(Y)
• MoonRise
• Sample-return mission

External links

• China's Deep Space Exploration Roadmap. (2018)

Notes and References

1. Web site: Historic journey from Chang'e 6 lifts off . . 3 May 2024 . https://web.archive.org/web/20240503215544/https://www.cnsa.gov.cn/english/n6465652/n6465653/c10522480/content.html . 3 May 2024 . 3 May 2024.
2. Web site: Jones . Andrew . China's Chang'e-6 probe arrives at spaceport for first-ever lunar far side sample mission . . 10 January 2024 . 10 January 2024 . 3 May 2024 . https://web.archive.org/web/20240503100724/https://spacenews.com/chinas-change-6-probe-arrives-at-spaceport-for-first-ever-lunar-far-side-sample-mission/ . live .
3. Web site: Long March 5 – Chang'e 6 . nextspaceflight.com . 3 May 2024 . 29 April 2024 . https://web.archive.org/web/20240429095929/https://nextspaceflight.com/launches/details/2669 . live .
4. Web site: 嫦娥六号探测器成功实施近月制动顺利进入环月轨道飞行 . 8 May 2024 . 中国新闻网 . zh-hans . 8 May 2024 . 8 May 2024 . https://web.archive.org/web/20240508191031/http://m.chinanews.com/wap/detail/zw/gn/2024/05-08/10212880.shtml . live .
5. Web site: 大陸「嫦娥六號」明年5月發射 擬帶回月球背面岩石採樣 . 25 April 2023 . 聯合報 . zh-hant . 25 April 2023 . 25 April 2023 . https://web.archive.org/web/20230425100704/https://udn.com/news/amp/story/7333/7122039 . live .
6. Web site: First Look: Chang'e 6 . 2024-06-14 . Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter Camera . en . 2024-06-15 . 14 June 2024 . https://web.archive.org/web/20240614235924/https://www.lroc.asu.edu/images/1374 . live .
7. Seger Yu . SegerYu . 1797042217804337307 . 落月时刻 2024-06-02 06:23:15.861 . zh .
8. Web site: 新华社权威快报丨嫦娥六号带回世界首份月背样品1935.3克 . 2024-06-28. 新华网. zh-hans . 2024-06-28 .
9. Web site: huaxia . China's Chang'e-6 collects 1,935.3 grams of samples from moon's far side . 28 June 2024 . . 28 June 2024 . 28 June 2024 . https://web.archive.org/web/20240628020730/https://english.news.cn/20240628/4be0972f277c4b8eb3b0bf53e456052c/c.html . live .
10. Web site: Rahul Rao . 2024-06-25 . China's Chang'e 6 probe will soon bring samples of the moon's far side to Earth — and scientists are getting excited . 2024-06-25 . Space.com . en . 25 June 2024 . https://web.archive.org/web/20240625053616/https://www.space.com/change-6-sample-return-science-investigations-scientists . live .
11. Web site: 嫦娥六号着陆器和上升器合影来了! . CNSA . 9 June 2024 . 4 June 2024 . https://web.archive.org/web/20240604232927/https://www.cnsa.gov.cn/n6759533/c10543444/content.html . live .
12. Web site: Jones . Andrew . Chang'e-6 lands on far side of the moon to collect unique lunar samples . . 1 June 2024 . 1 June 2024 . 2 June 2024 . https://web.archive.org/web/20240602181912/https://spacenews.com/change-6-lands-on-far-side-of-the-moon-to-collect-unique-lunar-samples/ . live .
13. Web site: Jones . Andrew . 2024-01-10 . China's Chang'e-6 probe arrives at spaceport for first-ever lunar far side sample mission . 2024-06-25 . SpaceNews . en-US . 3 May 2024 . https://web.archive.org/web/20240503100724/https://spacenews.com/chinas-change-6-probe-arrives-at-spaceport-for-first-ever-lunar-far-side-sample-mission/ . live .
14. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v7FiaHwv-BI Chang'e 4 press conference
15. http://epizodsspace.airbase.ru/bibl/inostr-yazyki/Chinese_Journal_of_Space_Science/2018/5/Xu_et_al_China's_Planning_---_before_2030_Chin_J_Space_Sci_38_(2018).pdf China's Planning for Deep Space Exploration and Lunar Exploration before 2030
16. http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2018cosp...42E3886Z A Tentative Plan of China to Establish a Lunar Research Station in the Next Ten Years
17. https://qz.com/1262581/china-lays-out-its-ambitions-to-colonize-the-moon-and-build-a-lunar-palace/ China lays out its ambitions to colonize the moon and build a "lunar palace"
18. Web site: @SegarYu . Segar Yu . 2 June 2024 . X . zh-hans . 2 June 2024 . 2 June 2024 . https://web.archive.org/web/20240602181952/https://x.com/SegerYu/status/1797110109493166299 . live .
19. Web site: Lee . Liz . Baptista . Eduardo . 3 June 2024 . China's Chang'e-6 lifts off from far side of moon . 3 June 2024 . Reuters.com.
20. Web site: Huaxia . 3 June 2024 . China's spacecraft takes off from moon with first samples from lunar far side . 3 June 2024 . Xinhua.com . 4 June 2024 . https://web.archive.org/web/20240604002752/https://english.news.cn/20240604/4f06a149d2914ec8aebc1e9f41c93fea/c.html . live .
21. Web site: Jones . Andrew . Chang'e-6 spacecraft dock in lunar orbit ahead of journey back to Earth . . 6 June 2024 . 6 June 2024 . 8 June 2024 . https://web.archive.org/web/20240608035430/https://spacenews.com/change-6-spacecraft-dock-in-lunar-orbit-ahead-of-journey-back-to-earth/ . live .
22. Web site: China launches Chang'e 6 sample-return mission to moon's far side (Video) . . 3 May 2024 . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20240503153614/https://www.space.com/china-change-6-moon-sample-return-mission-launch . 3 May 2024 . 3 May 2024.
23. News: Limited . Bangkok Post Public Company . China"s lunar lander lifts off from far side with cargo of dirt . 2024-06-04 . Bangkok Post . en . 5 June 2024 . https://web.archive.org/web/20240605044749/https://www.bangkokpost.com/world/2804900/chinas-lunar-lander-lifts-off-from-far-side-with-cargo-of-dirt . live .
24. Web site: Apollo 13 Crew. Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum. 6 January 2018. 24 October 2020. https://web.archive.org/web/20201024155252/https://airandspace.si.edu/explore-and-learn/topics/apollo/apollo-program/landing-missions/apollo13-crew.cfm. dead.
25. Web site: Andrew Jones. China confirms landing site for Chang'e-5 Moon sample return. GB Times. 17 December 2017. 7 June 2017. https://web.archive.org/web/20190328154816/https://gbtimes.com/china-confirms-landing-site-change-5-moon-sample-return. 28 March 2019. dead.
26. https://nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov/planetary/lunar/cnsa_moon_future.html Future Chinese Lunar Missions
27. Web site: Chang'e 5 test mission. Spaceflight101.com. 17 December 2017. 2017. 4 October 2017. https://web.archive.org/web/20171004054935/http://spaceflight101.com/change/change-5-test-mission/. live.
28. https://space.skyrocket.de/doc_sdat/change-5.htm Chang'e 5 and Chang'e 6
29. http://www.cast.cn/Item/Show.asp?d=5331&m=1 China well prepared to launch Chang e-5 lunar probe in 2017: top scientist
30. https://gbtimes.com/china-invites-international-cooperation-in-change-6-moon-sample-return-mission China invites international cooperation in Chang'e-6 Moon sample return mission
31. CNSA Watcher . CNSAWatcher . 1596048713280933888 . On Nov 24, CNSA confirmed Chang'e 6 lunar landing mission will launch in 2025. Countries participating: China, EU, Italy, France, Sweden, and Pakistan. Also confirmed by CNSA: "hopper" probes will explore shadowed craters for iced water in Chang'e 7 & 8. . 25 November 2022.
32. Web site: Jones . Andrew . China picks 4 international payloads for historic sample-return mission to moon's far side . Space.com . en . 20 December 2022 . 1 May 2024 . 15 April 2024 . https://web.archive.org/web/20240415031451/https://www.space.com/china-moon-far-side-sample-return-mission-payloads . live .
33. Web site: State visit of President Macron to China – In 2023, Chang'e 6 will deploy the French DORN instrument on the Moon to study the lunar exosphere. CNES. 7 November 2019. 6 November 2019. 19 December 2020. https://web.archive.org/web/20201219115645/https://presse.cnes.fr/en/state-visit-president-macron-china-2023-change-6-will-deploy-french-dorn-instrument-moon-study-lunar. live.
34. Web site: Chang'e-6 launch: What to expect . Planetary Society . 29 April 2024 . 4 May 2024 . 3 May 2024 . https://web.archive.org/web/20240503160908/https://www.planetary.org/articles/change-6-launch-what-to-expect . live .
35. Canu-Blot . Romain . Wieser . Martin . Barabash . Stash . The Negative Ions at the Lunar Surface (NILS): first dedicated negative ion instrument on the Chang'E-6 mission to the Moon. . 23 September 2022 . 16th Europlanet Science Congress 2022. 10.5194/epsc2022-992 . 2022EPSC...16..992C . free .
36. Web site: Institute of Space Technology . Islamabad . ICUBE-Q . 3 May 2024 . 2 May 2024 . https://web.archive.org/web/20240502122708/https://www.ist.edu.pk/icube-q . live .
37. News: Pakistan's 'historic' lunar mission to be launched on Friday aboard China lunar probe . DAWN . 30 April 2024 . en . 1 May 2024 . 1 May 2024 . https://web.archive.org/web/20240501033917/https://www.dawn.com/news/1830608/pakistans-historic-lunar-mission-to-be-launched-on-friday-aboard-china-lunar-probe . live .
38. Web site: Leonard David . 2024-07-02 . Get an up-close look at China's Chang'e 6 farside moon rover (video) . 2024-07-04 . Space.com . en.
39. Web site: Jones . Andrew . China's Chang'e-6 is carrying a surprise rover to the moon . SpaceNews . 8 May 2024 . 6 May 2024 . 8 May 2024 . https://web.archive.org/web/20240508193233/https://spacenews.com/chinas-change-6-is-carrying-a-surprise-rover-to-the-moon/ . live .
40. Web site: Leonard David . 2024-07-02 . Get an up-close look at China's Chang'e 6 farside moon rover (video) . 2024-07-04 . Space.com . en.
41. Web site: Stewart . Simone McCarthy, Marc . 3 May 2024 . China launches moon probe as space race with US heats up . 3 May 2024 . CNN . en . 3 May 2024 . https://web.archive.org/web/20240503100818/https://www.cnn.com/2024/05/02/china/china-change-6-moon-probe-launch-intl-hnk-scn/index.html . live .
42. News: Baptista . Eduardo . 4 May 2024 . China launches historic mission to retrieve samples from far side of the moon . live . 6 May 2024 . Reuters . 3 May 2024 . https://web.archive.org/web/20240503095253/https://www.reuters.com/science/china-launches-historic-mission-retrieve-samples-far-side-moon-2024-05-03/ .
43. Web site: 2 June 2024 . China lunar probe successfully lands on far side of Moon to collect samples . 2 June 2024 . France 24 . en.
44. Web site: 嫦娥六号着陆月背南极-艾特肯盆地 将按计划开展月背采样 . 2 June 2024 . 中国新闻网 . zh-hans . 2 June 2024 . 2 June 2024 . https://web.archive.org/web/20240602181759/http://m.chinanews.com/wap/detail/zw/gn/2024/06-02/10227335.shtml . live .
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48. Web site: Chang'e-6 heads for Earth with first-ever lunar far side samples. 2024-06-23. SpaceNews. en. 2024-06-24.
49. Web site: China's Chang'e-6 moon mission returns to Earth with historic far side samples . CNN . 2024-06-25 . 2024-06-25 . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20240625064450/https://www.cnn.com/2024/06/25/china/china-change-6-moon-mission-return-scn-intl-hnk/index.html . 2024-06-25.