WENCHANG, China, May 3, 2024 (BSS/AFP) - China is set Friday to launch a
probe to collect samples from the far side of the Moon, a world first as
Beijing pushes ahead with an ambitious programme that aims to send a crewed
lunar mission by 2030.

A rocket carrying the Chang'e-6 lunar probe is scheduled to blast off from
the Wenchang Space Launch Center in southern China's Hainan province just
before 5:30 pm (0930 GMT), officials have said.

It is the latest leap for China's ambitious space programme, which Washington
has warned is being used to mask military objectives and an effort to
establish extraterrestrial dominance.

The Chang'e-6 aims to collect around two kilograms of lunar samples from the
far side of the Moon and bring them back to Earth for analysis.

It is a technically complex 53-day mission that will also see it attempt an
unprecedented launch from the side of the Moon that always faces away from
Earth.

"Chang'e-6 will collect samples from the far side of the Moon for the first
time," Ge Ping, vice director of China's Lunar Exploration and Space
Engineering Center, told journalists.

The probe is set to land in the immense South Pole-Aitken Basin, one of the
largest known impact craters in the solar system.

Once there, it will scoop up lunar soil and rocks, and carry out other
experiments in the landing zone.

It must then lift off from the Moon's surface and retrace its steps back
home.

- Space dream -

Plans for China's "space dream" have been put into overdrive under President
Xi Jinping.

Beijing has ploughed huge resources into its space programme over the last
decade, targeting a string of ambitious undertakings in an effort to close
the gap with the two traditional space powers -- the United States and
Russia.

The country has notched several notable achievements, including building a
space station called Tiangong, or "heavenly palace", to which it sent a fresh
crew of three astronauts last month.

Beijing has landed robotic rovers on Mars and the Moon, and made China only
the third country to independently put humans in orbit.

China aims to send a crewed mission to the Moon by 2030, and plans to build a
base on the lunar surface.

The United States is also planning to put astronauts back on the Moon by 2026
with its Artemis 3 mission.

The rapid advance of China's space programme has raised alarm bells in
Washington, with the head of NASA warning last month that the US was now in a
"race" against Beijing.

"We believe that a lot of their so-called civilian space program is a
military program," NASA administrator Bill Nelson told lawmakers on Capitol
Hill.

- Dark side of the Moon -

Chang'e-6 is the first of three high-wire uncrewed missions to the Moon
planned by China this decade.

Its successor, Chang'e-7, will scour the lunar south pole for water, while
Chang'e-8 will attempt to establish the technical feasibility of building a
planned base, known as the International Lunar Research Station, with Beijing
saying a "basic model" will be completed by 2030.

Scientists say the Moon's dark side -- so-called because it is invisible from
Earth, not because it never catches the sun's rays -- holds great promise for
research as its craters are less covered by ancient lava flows than the near
side.

That might mean it is more possible to collect material that sheds light on
how the Moon formed in the first place.

"The samples collected by Chang'e-6 will have a geological age of
approximately 4 billion years," Ge said.

"Collecting lunar samples from different regions and geological ages, and
conducting experiments is of great value and significance for humanity."