June 4 (UPI) — China’s space agency said its Chang-e 6 mission lifted off from the far side of the moon on Tuesday as it begins its journey to transport samples and moon rocks back to Earth.
The probe’s ascent lamp lifted off from the moon’s surface at 7:38 a.m. Beijing time, according to China’s National Space Administration, which said in a statement that its engines successfully placed the ascent lamp into its predetermined lunar orbit about six minutes later .
The probe consists of an orbiter, lander, ascent lamp and returner and was launched into space in early May and reached the far point of the moon’s surface on Sunday.
Samples have been collected over the past two days from a crater known as the Pole-Aitken Basin on the far side of the moon. It also captured images and transported them back to Earth, some of which CNSA has published online.
CNSA said the samples were sealed in a storage device carried by the ascent vehicle.
“Intelligent sampling is one of the key components of the Chang’e 6 mission,” CNSA said in the statement.
During its time on the moon, the probe withstood “high temperatures” and used a drilling tool and a mechanical arm to collect lunar samples, the report said.
The probe had attempted to collect some of the oldest known rocks at the moon’s south pole, which Chinese scientists hope could shed light on how planets form.
