Chang'e 6 (Chinese: 嫦娥六号; pinyin: Cháng'é liùhào) is a planned robotic Chinese and Pakistani lunar exploration mission that has been officially announced for the first half of 2024 and is expected to launch on 3 May 2024. It will attempt China's second sample return mission.[2] The mission will atte...
Chang'e 6/CE-6 is scheduled to launch in 2024 to return samples from the Far Side of the Moon (near southern edge of the Apollo Basin) for the first time. International science instruments from France, Italy, Sweden and Pakistan will also be on board.
Long March 5 is a Chinese heavy lift launch system developed by China Academy of Launch Vehicle Technology (CALT). CZ-5 is the first Chinese vehicle designed from the ground up to focus on non-hypergolic liquid rocket propellants. Currently, two CZ-5 vehicle configurations are planned, with maximum payload capacities of ~25,000 kilograms (55,000 lb) to LEO and ~14,000 kilograms (31,000 lb) to GTO. The Long March 5 roughly matches the capabilities of American EELV heavy-class vehicles such as the Delta IV Heavy.
The China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation (CASC) is the main contractor for the Chinese space program. It is state-owned and has a number of subordinate entities which design, develop and manufacture a range of spacecraft, launch vehicles, strategic and tactical missile systems, and ground equipment. It was officially established in July 1999 as part of a Chinese government reform drive, having previously been one part of the former China Aerospace Corporation. Various incarnations of the program date back to 1956.
INFO WIKIChina’s Chang’e-6 lunar far side sample return spacecraft entered orbit around the moon late Tuesday, in another step towards collecting lunar samples.
China’s Chang’e-6 spacecraft appears to carry a previously undisclosed lunar rover as part of the mission’s far side exploration plans.
China is going. NASA is talking about going. What gives?
China rolled out the rocket to launch its Chang’e-6 mission early Saturday, with the aim of collecting the first lunar far side samples.
This week, China returns to the Moon with the Chang’e-6 mission, making the first-ever attempt to collect samples from a site on the far side, near the lunar South Pole.