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

China’s Chang’e-6 Moon-orbiting mission is studying far side landing sites for accessibility and to perform a safe touchdown in early June.

Launched on May 3, some 5 days later the craft entered a 12-hour lunar orbit and began circularizing its orbit.

James Head of the Department of Earth, Environmental and Planetary Science at Brown University has been working with China’s cadre of lunar exploration planners.

At a May 24th NASA Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter project science working group meeting, Head detailed the progression of China’s Moon effort.

Image courtesy James Head.

Projected landing date

The Chang’e-6 mission profile is essentially identical to China’s Chang’e-5 robotic Moon mission in late 2020, Head advised Inside Outer Space. That earlier effort returned 1,731 grams of lunar materials from Northern Oceanus Procellarum near a huge volcanic complex, Mons Rümker, located in the northwest lunar near side.

Chang’e-6 mission profile is essentially identical to China’s Chang’e-5 robotic Moon mission in late 2020.
Image courtesy James Head

A key upcoming event for Chang’e-6 is a projected June 2 (Beijing Time) descent and landing, followed by three days of lunar surface sampling and instrument observations at the far side landing site. This sequence is followed by the sample-loaded ascent module rocketing off the Moon into lunar orbit, for rendezvous and docking with a lunar orbiter.

After the lunar collectibles are transferred into a return-to-Earth module that then carries out a trans-Earth coast, the return capsule on June 25 (Beijing Time) is to enter the Earth’s atmosphere and make a parachute-assisted landing.

Sample catalog

With samples retrieved, they will be transferred to a lunar receiving lab in Beijing for examination. The far side specimens are to be described and documented, prior to publication of a Chang’e-6 sample catalog.

Chinese President Xi Jinping inspects Chang’e-5 lunar sample return capsule.
Credit: CCTV/Inside Outer Space screengrab

Samples then become open for application to the China National Space Agency for analysis by the scientific community, Head said.

In the case of Chang’e-5 returned lunar materials, China later delivered about 17 grams of these samples to 13 institutions which had submitted applications to the Lunar Exploration and Space Program Center of the Chin National Space Agency (CNSA) to utilize them for research purposes.

Image courtesy James Head

Far side specimens

The Chang’e-6 landing site is within the South Pole-Aitken Basin (SPA), the largest and most ancient lunar impact basin. SPA basin is in the southern part of the Apollo basin. It is possible that this return sample mission will haul back to Earth lunar basalts that have major implications for the magmatic processes and the far side mantle properties.

Wang Chi, chief scientist of the fourth phase of the lunar exploration project.
Image credit: CCTV/Inside Outer Space

“We can conduct exploration and research on the oldest soil and lunar soil on the Moon, which will reveal the history of the formation of the Moon,” academician Wang Chi, chief scientist of the fourth phase of China’s lunar exploration project, recently explained to China Central Television (CCTV).

“The main task of Chang’e-6 is to collect samples from the Aitken Basin on the far side of the Moon and return them. In order to facilitate sampling, we also have a series of payloads. For example, our panoramic camera will be used to detect the terrain and landforms, and an important payload is the lunar radar, which will be used to investigate the geological structure,” said Wang.

Image credit: CGTN/CNSA/Inside Outer Space screengrab

Solar illumination

The Chang’e-6 lander relies on solar panels for power generation. 

“Our spacecraft depends on solar illumination for power generation, and this illumination varies with latitude. For this mission, we have selected a landing site in a region with moderate latitude. We chose the South Pole-Aitken Basin due to its adequate solar illumination and reliable communication signals, meeting the engineering standards,” Lu Yuntong, an engineer at the China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation, told CCTV.

The Wang Chi interview is available at:

https://youtu.be/2Y17JanE3JM?si=P-OIz7JLt4adrF4G

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