Leonard David's INSIDE OUTER SPACE

Image credit: CNSA via James Head

Image credit: CCTV/Inside Outer Space screengrab

At a NASA Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO) Project Science Working Group meeting today, James Head of Brown University offered this projected milestone update on China’s now lunar orbiting Chang’e-6 mission – a sample return to Earth from the Moon’s far side — now targeted to land June 2 (Beijing Time).

The mission underway mirrors the earlier Chang’e-5 lunar sample mission and its step-by-step steps (see upper opening artwork).

Artwork depicts Chang’e-6 now in Moon orbit.
Image credit: CNSA/CGTN/Inside Outer Space screengrab

Image credit: CGTN/CNSA/Inside Outer Space screengrabto land on June 2.

Chang’e 6 Current Mission Timeline (5-24-24)
• 5-3-24: Launched

• 5-8-24: Entered a 12-hour lunar orbit (~200 X 380,000 km
altitude) begins circularizing orbit.

• 5-24-24: Currently; studying landing site areas for
accessibility and landing.

Following are in Beijing Times:
• 6-2-24: Descent and Landing: Surface sampling and
instrument observations for three days:

• 6-4-24: Ascent to lunar orbit:

• 6-6-24: Ascent module docks with orbiter, transfers
samples then leaves lunar orbit for trans-Earth coast:

• 6-25-24: Earth atmosphere reentry, descent and landing. Samples recovered where a preliminary examination team undertakes description and documentation prior to publication of the Chang’e-6 sample catalog.

Samples then become open for application to the China National Space Administration (CNSA) for analysis to the scientific community.