China plants flag on dark side of the moon

A Chinese moon lander unfurled its national flag on the far side of the moon on Tuesday before heading back to Earth with rock samples. The Chang’e-6 ascender lifted off from the moon’s South Pole-Aitken Basin with samples gathered during the past two days, according to China’s National Space Administration, or CNSA. Chang’e-6 consisted of an orbiter, a returner, a lander, and an ascender, which launched from Earth on May 3, the administration said.

Why is the landing so special? It’s the first time in human history that samples have been collected from the rarely-explored terrain, CNSA claimed. China in January 2019 became the first country to land on the moon’s far side. The terrain of the moon’s far side is more rugged, making landing difficult. Because the dark side faces away from Earth, missions require more satellites to relay communications, making the missions more difficult and expensive. China hopes to put a person on the moon before 2030, aiming to make history as the second country to do so.

Dig deeper: Read Heather Frank’s report in Beginnings about why the United States is going to the Moon.