This Sunday, a Chinese space probe landed on the far side of the Moon and hopes to take rock samples.

Chinese space probe landed this Sunday on the far side of the Moontake soil and rock samples that could provide information about the differences between this lesser-studied region and the more famous entity.

The lunar lander touched down at 6:23 a.m. Beijing time in a huge crater known as Aitken Basin at the moon’s south pole, China’s National Space Administration said.

The lunar program is part growing rivalry with the United States — which remains a leader in space exploration — and other countries such as Japan and India. China has launched its own space station into orbit and regularly sends crews there.

This emerging world power aims to put a man on the moon before 2030. this would make it the second country after the United States to achieve this. The United States plans to send astronauts to the moon again for the first time in more than 50 years, although NASA pushed back the planned date to 2026 earlier this year.

Early Saturday, a Japanese billionaire canceled his plan to orbit the moon due to uncertainty over SpaceX’s mega-rocket development. NASA plans to use the rocket to send astronauts to the Moon.

In China’s current mission The lander will use a mechanical arm and a drill to collect up to 2 kilograms of material from the surface and underground. about two days.

A device on top of the lander will carry the samples in a vacuum-sealed metal container to another lander orbiting the Moon. The container will be transferred to a recovery capsule that will return to Earth in the deserts of China’s Inner Mongolia region around June 25.

Missions to the far side of the Moon are more complex because they focus on an area not facing Earth and require a relay satellite to maintain communications. In addition, the terrain is more rugged and there are fewer flat areas for landing on the Moon.