A Chinese probe carrying samples from the far side of the moon returned to Earth on Tuesday, completing a technically demanding 53-day mission in what was billed as a world first. The China National Space Administration hailed the mission as a “complete success”, stating that the lander of the Chang’e-6 spacecraft landed at a predetermined location in Inner Mongolia at 14:07 (06:07 GMT).

It carries soil and rocks from the far side of the Moon; This is an understudied region that scientists believe has great potential for research because its rough features are less softened by ancient lava flows than the near side. This means that the materials collected there could help us better understand how the Moon was formed and how it evolved over time.

The Chinese space agency said the probe “operated normally, signaling the complete success of the Chang’e-6 lunar exploration mission.” President Xi Jinping said in his welcome message that the mission command’s “outstanding contribution” “will be remembered forever by the motherland and the people,” state broadcaster CCTV reported.

Chang’e-6 lifted off from the space center on the island of Hainan on May 3 and landed in Aitken, the massive basin at the Moon’s South Pole, almost exactly a month later.

He used a drill and robotic arm to collect samples, took several photos of the mottled surface, and placed a basalt Chinese flag in the gray soil. On June 4, the probe made its first successful launch from the far side, which Xinhua called “an unprecedented achievement in the history of human lunar exploration.”

National pride, misinformation

China’s advancing space efforts are a source of pride for the government, and state media began covering the impending landing on Tuesday morning. Live images of the landing site showed workers approaching the landing module and several helicopters lined up on a wide flat bow. One of the workers placed a Chinese flag near the capsule and waved it enthusiastically in the wind. Xinhua news agency reported on Monday that local farmers and herders were evacuated from the area before it approached land.

“We hope that our country’s space exploration will continue to develop and our nation will become stronger,” local shepherd Ulji told Xinhua. said.

But the post also sparked a flood of misinformation online, AFP Fact Check found; Some users of the Weibo social media platform attempted to unfurl the Chinese flag to make false claims that Washington had faked the Apollo moon landing.

“Cosmic Dream”

Plans for China’s “space dream” began under Xi’s leadership. Over the past decade, Beijing has poured huge resources into its space program in an ambitious effort to catch up with traditional space powers the United States and Russia.

It has built a space station, landed robotic rovers on Mars and the moon, and became only the third country to send astronauts into orbit. But the US has warned that China’s space program masks military objectives and efforts to dominate space.

China plans to send a manned mission to the Moon by 2030 and eventually establish a base on the Moon’s surface. The United States also plans to return astronauts to the moon by 2026 with the Artemis 3 mission.