Chinese scientists hope that the Chang’e-6 probe will bring samples from the far side of the moon to Earth, with an estimated age of about 4 billion years. Gui Bing, deputy director of the Moon Exploration and Space Engineering Center at the China National Space Administration, mentioned in a talk with reporters that if the Chang’e-6 mission, launched on Friday, May 3, 2024, is successful, it will be the first time in human history that samples from the far side of the moon will be brought back to Earth.
He noted, "The geological age of lunar samples collected by the United States and the former Soviet Union is about 3 billion years. The geological age of the samples collected by the Chinese Chang'e-5 probe in 2020 is about 2 billion years. Now we expect that the Chang'e-6 probe will bring samples that are about 4 billion years old."
He added, "We believe that collecting lunar soil samples from different geological eras and various regions of the moon and studying them in the lab has significant value and importance for humanity to obtain comprehensive and complete information about the moon, to gain a deep understanding of its history, structure, evolution, and even the origin of the solar system."
According to him, the primary goal of the Chang'e-6 mission is to bring back about 2 kilograms of soil from the older far side of the moon, from which all previously collected lunar soil samples have been obtained. The Chang'e-6 probe, which will have a mission duration of 53 days, is planned to land in the Aitken Basin at the moon's south pole, which is a collision basin located on its far side and is the largest known crater on the moon, with a diameter of 2,400 kilometers.
