China's Chang’e 6 mission has finally returned from the moon with the world's first ever rock sample from the far side.
According to BBC, the Chang'e 6, after a nearly two-month-long mission, landed on Tuesday, June 25, in the rural Siziwang Banner region of the Inner Mongolia desert.
Scientists have been eagerly waiting for the return of the lunar probe with samples to find answers to the key questions about the formation of the planets.
Catherine Heymans, the astronomer royal for Scotland, told BBC, “It’s incredibly exciting to see this landing successfully. The geological activity on the Moon is very different on the near side and the far side, and it’s been a big puzzle why we see those differences.”
She believes that these samples would help researchers understand the composition of the centre of the moon.
Moreover, the Chang'e 6 mission was launched from a space centre in early May and made a successful landing on a crater close to the Moon’s south pole a few weeks later.
China's President Xi Jinping congratulated the command centre of the Chang’e-6 mission and hopes that they carry on exploring deep space, adding, “Reaching new heights in unraveling the mysteries of the universe... to benefit humanity and advance the nation.”
It should be noted that China is the only country that has landed on the far side of the moon, having done so before in 2019 too.