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IPFS News Link • Space Travel and Exploration

"Historic Moment": China Lands Spacecraft On Far Side Of Moon To Collect Samples

• Zero Hedge

In space news this weekend, Boeing's crewed Starliner spacecraft launch from NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida to the International Space Station was scrubbed again, and China's Chang'e-6 lander successfully touched down on the far side of the moon.  

Launched on May 3 from Wenchang Space Launch Center on the island of Hainan, in China, the lander has been orbiting the moon for days and finally landed at the South Pole-Aitken Basin at 06:23 Beijing time on Sunday morning. 

The lander is expected to deploy a mechanical arm with a drill bit and then drill down into the lunar surface, extracting a 4.4-pound core sample. The sample will then be taken to another module orbiting the moon and returned to Earth by the end of June.


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