China Raises Flag on the 'Dark Side' of the Moon

China Raises Flag , on the 'Dark Side' , of the Moon.
'Newsweek' reports that for the first time in human
history, China has begun the process of returning
samples from the "dark side" of the moon to the Earth. .
The Chang'e-6 craft reportedly raised a small Chinese
flag after collecting the samples before ending
its two-day mission on the moon's "dark side.".
It is an impressive
demonstration of Chinese
technological capability, John Logsdon, professor emeritus at the George Washington
University and founder of its Space Policy Institute, via 'Newsweek'.
The "dark side" refers to the hemisphere of
the moon that faces away from the Earth most
of the time due to its synchronous rotation.
John Logsdon, professor emeritus at the
George Washington University and founder of
its Space Policy Institute, says the samples could... .
... "determine whether the lunar far side is
similar or dissimilar to the face of the moon
that has been explored for over 50 years.".
The Chang'e-6 landed at the moon's
South Pole in the Aitken Basin, one of our
solar system's largest impact craters.
In order to communicate with the spacecraft,
China used the Queqiao-2 relay satellite to transmit
messages to vehicles on either side of the moon.
The probe autonomously used a robotic arm
to drill into the surface and gather the samples. .
'Newsweek' reports that the lander also carried three
research instruments from European space agencies,
including Italy's National Institute for Nuclear Physics.
China's seventh Chang'e mission
is scheduled to take place in 2026.