China Space Review 2024: Record-Breaking Rocket Launches, Lunar Samples Returned
In 2024, China launched a total of 68 carrier rockets, setting a new record. Chang'e 6 brought back the first samples from the far side, south pole of the Moon, and the Shenzhou-19 crew set a new record for spacewalk duration by Chinese astronauts.
Spoiler Alert: Crewed lunar landings are on the way . . .
China's Chang'e-6 lunar probe was launched on May 3, 2024, and carried four international payloads. Its lander-ascender combination touched down at the designated landing area in the South Pole-Aitken (SPA) Basin on June 2, 2024.
The returner of the Chang'e-6 probe touched down safely on Earth, June 25, 2024, in Siziwang Banner, north China's Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region. It brought back the world's first samples collected from the Moon's far side south polar region. These are critical for a better understanding of the Moon's origin, its geological history, and its interactions with our planet.
In 2020, Chang'e-5 was the first lunar sample-return mission since the Soviet Union's Luna 24 in 1976. The mission made China the third country to return samples from the Moon after the United States and the Soviet Union.
Duration: 3 minutes, 46 seconds
Release Date: Dec. 29, 2024
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