China's space agency says Chang'e-6 lunar mission a 'complete success'

A Chinese probe carrying samples from the far side of the Moon returned to Earth on June 25, state media reported, capping a technically complex 53-day mission heralded as a world first.

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The landing module of the Chang’e-6 spacecraft touched down at a predetermined site in Inner Mongolia at 2.07pm, the China National Space Administration said, hailing the mission a “complete success”.

The probe returns bearing soil and rocks from the side of the Moon that faces away from Earth, a poorly understood region that scientists say holds great research promise because its rugged features are less smoothed over by ancient lava flows than the near side.

That means the materials harvested there may help us to better understand how the Moon formed and how it has evolved over time.

The probe “is functioning normally, signalling that the Chang’e-6 lunar exploration mission was a complete success”, China’s space agency said in a statement.

President Xi Jinping said in a congratulatory message that the “outstanding contributions” of the mission command “will be remembered forever by the motherland and the people”, state broadcaster CCTV reported.