The National Space Administration China (CNSA) announces the launch of the Chang’e 6 mission for this Friday, May 3, thus, the robotic probe will collect samples from the hidden side of the Moon and will even transport three European scientific payloads to study every detail of the lunar surface.
According to the CNSA, Chang’e 6 will launch from the Wenchang Space Launch Center, Hainan Province, on a Long March-5 Y8 carrier rocket. And, once in space, the main objective of the mission will be to collect samples from the hidden side of the Earth’s satellite, a barely explored region that has aroused great interest in the international scientific community. In addition, the probe is destined for the Aitken-South Pole Basin, an area with unique geological characteristics that could shed light on the origins and evolution of the Moon.
Ahead of the launch, the Chinese authorities have strengthened the weather forecast system to ensure a successful takeoffand they have even designed ten alternative trajectories to make the most of the narrow launch window, which consists of two days and 50 minutes for each of them.
China could become the first country to collect samples of the hidden face
Chang’e 6 will take off from the Wenchang Space Launch Center and land in the Aitken Basin of the Moon’s South Pole. Once on the lunar surface, will collect dust and rock samples and subsequently, will transport them to Earth with the help of the input module. Also, in the meantime, the lander’s scientific instruments will perform other operations as long as they have sufficient power.
If the mission is successful, this It will be the first time that samples are obtained from the hidden side of Lunawhich could reveal valuable information about the history of the satellite.
The scientific instruments of Chang’e 6
Chang’e 6 will include a radon measurement instrument from France’s national space agency (CNES) to study the movement of lunar dust and some volatile chemicals between the regolith and the lunar exosphere.
The second scientific payload is a passive laser retroreflectorfrom the National Institute of Nuclear Physics of Italy, which will be used as a laser rangefinder for the Chang’e 6 lander.
And, thirdly, the other payload, developed by the Swedish Institute of Space Physics with the support of the European Space Agency, will be the instrument that will fly beyond Earth to detect negative ions emitted from the lunar surface.
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