China makes history again by collecting samples from the hidden side of the Moon: ‘They will never cease to amaze us’

first samples of hidden face surface from the Moon will reach the Earth at the end of this month, unless a greater disaster occurs. A historical milestone of key importance both for the study of the Earth’s satellite and for future colonization projects was achieved by Chinawhich, between last week and this, managed to land its Chang’e 6 probe on the Moon in the so-called Aitken Basin, a colossal crater located at the moon’s south pole, and collect debris from its surface.

It’s a new demonstration of the strength of the thriving Chinese space program as he values ​​it, in statements to El Debate: Jorge Pla Garcia, a researcher at the Astrobiology Center and a participant in several NASA missions to Mars, who does not rule out the possibility that China will overtake the almighty United States as the main player in the new space race in the coming years. In this competition, constant milestones are undeniable, with the help of which he demonstrates his capabilities and conquers hitherto unprecedented milestones.

“They never cease to amaze us. Deliver samples from the Moon (with the help of the Chang’e-5 mission, which in 2020 returned the first areas of the lunar surface for the first time since 1976), reach the far side of the Moon (achieved by the Chang’e-4 mission). mission in 2019) or create its own space station (Tiangong, launched in 2021), China has moved ahead. For delivering samples from Mars, it seems clear that this too will be delivered. And I wouldn’t rule out the possibility of sending a man to the Moon again,” says the researcher, pointing to the delays that the megaship is facing. Starship from SpaceX. The ship, which, by the way, will conduct its fourth flight tests today, Thursday, if nothing prevents this.

According to Pla-Garcia, this sum of milestones puts China and the United States on an equal footing in conquering the Moon. The Asian giant plans to send a taikonaut to the moon by the end of the 2030s, and NASA aims to be far ahead: the first manned lunar landing mission Artemis 3dated 2026. Despite this, the Spaniard does not see clear American superiority in anything.

The samples collected by China on the hidden side – a face that is much harder and harder to access than the visible side, which is why space race participants have historically not ventured there – will serve, above all, “optimize and accelerate human exploration of the Moon”says Pla-Garcia, based on “China’s plans and their plans.”

It is not for nothing that the territory chosen for this purpose is located at the south pole – the region of the Moon that has aroused the greatest interest since its abundance of water and the presence of other, no less useful resources were discovered. “Next missions will continue to land in this area to lay the foundations for human exploration, so they want to know the composition of lunar regolith very well for resource extraction purposes. on the spot. Regardless of the composition of these samples, which in principle should not differ much from those on the visible side, they are very interested in getting maximum benefit from them for their goal of placing the Chinese at the South Pole for both specific research and for permanent bases,” he analyzes.

Arrival of samples to Earth scheduled for the 20th of this month.