A capsule containing a container in it Lunar soil samples It landed on Tuesday afternoon in Inner Mongolia, which belongs to China.
The mission is considered groundbreaking because the collected rock fragments come from the far side of the Moon, which is not visible from Earth. Scientists have never done this before They had the opportunity ifC Rocks from this areaWhich, due to numerous meteorite impacts, may contain material from a very early period in the formation of the solar system.
Samples from the moon. The Chinese are the only ones in the world
China is the only country that was able to land its probe In this far Part of Silver GlobeThe local space agency has already managed to do this twice, back in 2019.
The Chang’e-6 spacecraft, named after a Chinese goddess, was launched on May 3 and its mission was exceptionally technical. After landing in the lunar south pole The automatic lander dug a two-meter deep hole in the ground and took about 2 kilograms of rock material from it.. The samples were then placed in a return vehicle that waited in lunar orbit. The entire mission, even returning to Earth, took 53 days.
The Xinhua News Agency described the achievement as an unprecedented achievement in the history of human lunar exploration, and state broadcaster CCTV reported that the container containing the samples will now be sent to Beijing and will only be opened there.
According to commentators, the Chinese investigation is successful It paves the way for future manned exploration Kmoon. Except China They aspire to be leaders in this field United State And dew.
USA – China – Russia. International Competition
Since 2013, Beijing has significantly increased the budget for its space program to catch up with the United States and Russia. As is the case with the Americans, China plans to send its astronauts to the moon and build a permanent base there.
It is estimated that last year, the Chinese authorities allocated more than 14 billion US dollars to space research. However, the United States is still spending more on this budget: this year’s budget The US space agency NASA amounted to $24.8 billion althoug It has been reduced slightly.
The United States plans to return its astronauts to the moon in 2026 or 2027 as part of the Artemis program. This time, unlike the Apollo program that ended more than half a century ago, the plan assumes people will stay there. At stake will be control of lunar resources – Such as helium-3, rare earth metals, and water used to support life and produce fuel.
China plans to send its crew to the moon by 2030, and within the next five years it intends to build a base near the South Pole. The Indian space agency ISRO also plans to send people to the moon’s surface, around 2040.
From Bangkok to Interia Tomasz Augustiniak
Stay informed And become one of over 200,000 followers of our fan page – e.g Interia events on Facebook And comment on our articles there!
“Prone to fits of apathy. Introvert. Award-winning internet evangelist. Extreme beer expert.”
