Chinese spacecraft to land on dark side of Moon for the first time

Chang’e-4, which launches on December 8, is hoping to investigate the far side of the Moon’s surface
László Francsics
Megan White4 December 2018

A Chinese spacecraft is set for a world first in the New Year by landing on the dark side of the Moon.

Chang’e-4, which launches on December 8, is hoping to investigate the far side of the Moon’s surface and conduct the first investigations into whether plants will grow there.

The mission, comprising of a lander and a rover, will leave Xichang Satellite Launch Centre in Sichuan province and enter the Moon’s orbit before touching down in a massive crater near the Moon’s south pole.

It will map the region surrounding the landing site and measure the Moon’s layers using radar technology.

The Long March-3B rocket carrying the Chang'e-3 lunar probe blasts off from the launch pad at Xichang Satellite Launch Center, Sichuan province December 2, 2013
Reuters/China Daily

The rover is also hoping to measure the mineral composition of the Moon with an infrared spectrometer, which could help geologists understand the processes involved in its early evolution.

If the landing is successful, Chang’e-4 will also conduct the first radio astronomy experiments from the far side of the Moon.

Dr Carolyn van der Bogert, a planetary geologist at Westfälische Wilhelms University in Münster, Germany, said: “This mission is definitely a significant and important accomplishment in lunar exploration.”

The first photo was taken of the far side of the Moon in 1959 by the USSR’s unmanned Luna 3, but no space program has ever landed a rover on it.

China has also launched a relay satellite, Queqiao, to communicate with the Chang’e-4.

Create a FREE account to continue reading

eros

Registration is a free and easy way to support our journalism.

Join our community where you can: comment on stories; sign up to newsletters; enter competitions and access content on our app.

Your email address

Must be at least 6 characters, include an upper and lower case character and a number

You must be at least 18 years old to create an account

* Required fields

Already have an account? SIGN IN

By clicking Create Account you confirm that your data has been entered correctly and you have read and agree to our Terms of use , Cookie policy and Privacy policy .

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged in

MORE ABOUT