--- title: "China Lands on Dark Side of the Moon, Prepares to Gather Loot and Return to Earth" description: "Going Dark China has just successfully scored its latest forte in the space race after landing on the Moon's dark side for the second time. As Space.com reports, China's Chang'e robotic rover has successfully touched down on the Moon's Apollo crater, which according to the country's space agency was exactly where it was supposed to land. […]" date: "2024-06-03" modified: "2024-06-03" authors: - name: "Noor Al-Sibai" job_title: "Senior Staff Writer" link: "https://futurism.com/authors/nooralsibai" url: "https://futurism.com/the-byte/china-dark-side-moon-sample-return" categories: - "Astronomy" - "Moon" - "Space" tags: - "china" - "lunar mission" - "moon" - "the digest" --- # China Lands on Dark Side of the Moon, Prepares to Gather Loot and Return to Earth ![China has just successfully scored its latest forte in the space race after landing on the Moon's dark side for the second time.]() *\Image: Getty / Futurism\* ## Going Dark China has just successfully scored its latest forte in the space race after landing on the Moon's dark side for the second time. As [*Space.com* reports](), China's Chang'e robotic lander has successfully touched down on the Moon's Apollo crater. Notably, this is the second time a Chang'e mission — aptly named for the [Chinese goddess of the Moon]() — has landed on the side of our natural satellite that faces away from Earth. Back in early 2019, the program's fourth iteration made history as the [world's first soft landing]() on the so-called "[dark side of the Moon]()," which is the half that always faces away from Earth. China is now attempting to make history once again with Chang'e 6, which is slated to scoop up rocks from the Moon's dark side and take off again to return home. While there have been previous missions to [bring back lunar samples](), none have done so from the far side of the Moon, making this attempt unprecedented. After [taking off from Earth]() at the beginning of May and landing over the weekend, the latest Chang'e rover will, as [*Reuters* explains](), have a brief 14-hour window to collect about 4.4 pounds of rock samples. Those space rocks will then be launched with a special rocket that will rendezvous with the [mission's orbiter](), which is currently cruising around the Moon. Soon after, the orbiter will schlep back down to Earth with samples in tow. ## Unsolved Mysteries There remain many mysteries about the Moon's far side. One is why the side that faces our planet has lots of volcanic seas known as "[marias]()," while the far side does not. With these samples from Chang'e 6, scientists are hopeful to learn more about our strange satellite — and perhaps about the origins of our solar system. As the European Space Agency's lunar science head James Carpenter explained to *Reuters*, the samples collected on the Moon's near side [during the Apollo missions]() back in the 1970s suggested that some of its craters were the result of heavy asteroid collisions. Getting samples from the Apollo crater on the Moon's other side will hopefully tell the other side of that story. "This is a really core event in the history of the whole solar system, but there is some controversy about whether it happened or not," Carpenter said. "To understand that, you need to anchor those events, and that's going to be done with samples from the lunar far side." **More on the Moon:** [*Scientist Terrified Astronauts Might Be Shredded by Sandblasts on the Moon*]() ## Author At Futurism, I've often been drawn to unpacking the narratives that underlie technological, scientific and medical progress, with a special interest in areas of conflict and ambiguity that end up setting agendas and steering the fates of both elites and the hoi polloi. I'm a committed generalist, but I often find myself returning to work involving NASA and the private space sector, the effects of AI on media and society, and the mechanics of the pharmaceutical industry, with a specific focus on the spread of GLP-1 drugs like Ozempic and Wegovy. Prior to Futurism, I worked for publications ranging from Media Matters and Truthdig to Raw Story and Bustle. I'm also the author of "Myspace Scene Queens," a 2024 title in Instar Books' acclaimed "Remember the Internet" series. My work at Futurism has been cited by outlets including the New Yorker, Slate, Nieman Lab, the Verge, the MIT Technology Review, the Sunday Times, and the Daily Beast. I grew up in North Carolina, attended the University of North Carolina at Asheville, and now live in Brooklyn, New York. In my free time, I'm an avid reader and music fan; you can probably find me at a local poetry reading, concert, underground rave, or DJ set. I'm the proud parent of an ineffable orange cat named Mee-Mow. ### Author social links [Bluesky]()