China brought back the world's first samples collected from the moon's far side, as the returner of the Chang'e-6 probe touched down on Earth at 2:07 p.m. Beijing Time (0607 GMT) on Tuesday in Siziwang Banner, north China's Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region.
The return capsule landed precisely in the designated area and the mission is a complete success, announced the China National Space Administration (CNSA).
Zhang Kejian, administrator of China National Space Administration, announces the Chang'e-6 probe's successful return to Earth at Beijing Aerospace Control Center, Beijing, China, June 25, 2024. /CMG
Watch: CGTN's live coverage of Chang'e-6's return to Earth
Chang'e-6 is one of the most complex and challenging missions in China's space exploration efforts to date.
"The Chang'e-6 mission represents a significant milestone in the history of human lunar exploration, and it will contribute to a more comprehensive understanding of lunar evolution," said Yang Wei, a researcher at the Institute of Geology and Geophysics of the Chinese Academy of Sciences.
"New samples will inevitably lead to new discoveries. Fascination with the moon is rooted in Chinese culture down the ages, as evidenced by the mythological narrative of Chang'e, a lady who journeyed to and resided on the moon," Yang added. "Now, Chinese scientists are eagerly anticipating the opportunity to contribute to lunar science."
The returner will be transferred to Beijing, where engineers will take out the samples and hand them over to what the CNSA calls the "ground application system" led by a group of scientists who will store and study the samples.
Watch: The Hype – All you need to know about Chang'e-6
The mission
Consisting of an orbiter, a returner, a lander and an ascender, the Chang'e-6 probe was launched on May 3 and has gone through various stages such as Earth-moon transfer, near-moon braking, lunar orbiting, and separation of the lander-ascender combination and the orbiter-returner combination.
Supported by the Queqiao-2 relay satellite, the lander-ascender combination landed at the designated landing area in the South Pole-Aitken Basin on the far side of the moon on June 2 and carried out sampling work.
On June 4, the ascender took off from the moon with samples and entered the lunar orbit. On June 6, it completed rendezvous and docking with the orbiter-returner combination and transferred samples to the returner. The ascender then separated from the combination and landed on the moon to avoid becoming space junk.
The orbiter-returner combination spent 13 days in lunar orbit, awaiting the right opportunity to return to Earth. After completing two moon-Earth transfer maneuvers and one orbital correction, the returner separated from the orbiter and delivered the samples to Earth.
The Queqiao-2 will remain in orbit and collect data from the moon and deep space with its cameras and other devices.
Read more: Space China – latest news on China's space exploration
(With input from Xinhua. Liu Yuyao, Liu Xun and Gong Zhe contributed to the story.)