Far Side of the Moon: China lands probe on far side of moon in world's first

World
Europe

02:12

'The mysterious veil' of the far side of the Moon is lifted, after China's Chang'e-4 lunar probe made a first and historic landing there on Thursday. China's space agency says the landing opens a new chapter in lunar exploration. Wu Lei reports from the ground control center.

Opening a new chapter in mankind's space endeavor. China's Chang'e 4 landed at 10:26 AM Beijing time in the Von Karman crater in the South Pole-Aitken basin. The probe then sent back 3 IMAGES, which show its landing site and the place where its rover will be heading to roam and survey.

YU GUOBIN, SPOKESMAN CHANG'E 4 LUNAR MISSION "The key reason for this successful landing is the relay satellite which was launched last May. Its smooth orbit path and running guaranteed the communication between the earth and the probe. It can be said that China has created a revolutionary technology for lunar exploration."

WU LEI BEIJING "The successful landing of Chang'e 4 marks another key step for China's future lunar exploration, but scientists say there are still many challenges ahead, and global collaboration is expected to play a bigger role in China's deep space ambitions."

The Chang'e 4 consists of two parts – a lander and a rover, and the two carry eight mission instruments including two which were jointly designed by Chinese scientists and their counterparts in Sweden and Germany.

YU GUOBIN, SPOKESMAN CHANG'E 4 LUNAR MISSION "One of the major challenges is that there are many mountainous areas from the landing site to the Von Karman Crater, which may block communication and sunlight. Whether these unstable facts will impact the rover or not still requires practical data."

Yu Guobin says the next step is for the rover to be dispatched from the lander and begin its investigation of the Von Karman Crater. Chang'e 4's mission will enable scientists to discover what they haven't known about the moon and will deepen their knowledge about the history of the solar system. WL, CGTN, BJ.