China's Chang'e-6 mission enters final return stage

The official media channel for China's Chang'e-6 mission announced last Friday that the lunar probe has completed over 70 percent of its 380,000-kilometer journey back to Earth. It is carrying the first-ever batch of lunar samples collected from the moon's mysterious far side. The probe's return capsule is scheduled to land in Siziwang Banner, located in north China's Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region.

The spacecraft is expected to enter Earth's atmosphere and land at the designated landing site in Siziwang Banner on Tuesday.

The spacecraft is now in the final stage of its complex and challenging 53-day mission, which included landing on the moon, collecting samples, ascending, docking, and returning.

Optical and radio observations have confirmed that the Chang'e 6 return capsule is en route to Earth. Civilian and amateur organizations such as the German Amateur Radio Satellite Organization, have provided evidence of Chang'e 6's activities through their observations and tracking records.

Before re-entering Earth's atmosphere, the return capsule will employ a special technique to reduce the high speed it accumulated while returning from the moon. 

Recovering the samples from the moon's far side will enable extensive research into its composition and evolution. The collected materials can help scientists understand why the moon's near and far sides are so different and offer insights into the early history of the solar system.

On June 18, Space.com reported that NASA's Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO) had observed China's Chang'e 6 on the far side of the moon for the first time. Mark Robinson, the principal investigator of the LRO's onboard advanced camera system, noted that Chang'e 6 was located near the edge of a roughly 50-meter-wide crater, flanked by two craters of similar size. The LRO discovered Chang'e 6 on the moon's far side on June 7.

(With input from agencies)