Chang'e 6
The Chang'e 6 lander (with the ascender on top) on the far side of the Moon. The photo was taken from Jinchan, a camera-equipped mini-rover that was released from the lander. | |
| Mission type | Surface sample return |
|---|---|
| Operator | CNSA |
| COSPAR ID | 2024-083A |
| SATCAT no. | 59627 |
| Mission duration | 52 days, 20 hours and 39 minutes |
| Spacecraft properties | |
| Manufacturer | CAST |
| Launch mass | 8,350 kg (18,410 lb) |
| Start of mission | |
| Launch date | 3 May 2024 09:27:29 UTC |
| Rocket | Long March 5 |
| Launch site | Wenchang |
| End of mission | |
| Landing date | 25 June 2024 06:07 UTC Return capsule |
| Landing site | Inner Mongolia, China |
| Lunar orbiter | |
| Orbital insertion | 8 May 2024 02:12 UTC |
| Orbital departure | 20 June 2024 ~15:00 UTC |
| Orbital parameters | |
| Periapsis altitude | 220 km (140 mi) |
| Inclination | 137° |
| Lunar lander | |
| Landing date | 1 June 2024 22:23:16 UTC |
| Return launch | 3 June 2024 23:38:10 UTC |
| Landing site | Southern mare of Apollo Basin 41°38′19″S 153°59′07″W / 41.6385°S 153.9852°W |
| Sample mass | 1,935.3 g (68.27 oz) |
| Jinchan Lunar rover | |
| Landing date | 1 June 2024 22:23:16 UTC |
| Landing site | Southern mare of Apollo Basin |
| Docking with Sample Ascender | |
| Docking date | 6 June 2024 06:48 UTC |
| Undocking date | 6 June 2024 |
| Chang'e probes | |
Chang'e 6 (Chinese: 嫦娥六号; pinyin: Cháng'é liùhào) was the sixth robotic lunar exploration mission by the China National Space Administration (CNSA) and the second CNSA lunar sample-return mission. Like its predecessors in the Chinese Lunar Exploration Program, the spacecraft is named after the Chinese moon goddess Chang'e. It was the first lunar mission to retrieve samples from the far side of the Moon; all previous samples were collected from the near side.
The mission began on 3 May 2024 when the spacecraft was launched from Wenchang Space Launch Site on Hainan Island. Its lander and rover touched down on the lunar far side on 1 June 2024. The lander's robotic scoop and drill took samples with a total mass of 1935.3 grams from the lunar surface; the ascender module then carried these into lunar orbit on 3 June 2024. The ascender docked with the orbiter module in lunar orbit on 6 June 2024 and transferred the samples to an atmospheric re-entry module which then returned to Earth. The mission's lander and rover also conducted scientific experiments on the lunar surface.
The overall mission lasted about 53 days, ending on 25 June 2024 with the return capsule re-entering the atmosphere with the samples, landing by parachute in Inner Mongolia.