China Reveals Far Side Moon Soil

In a historic milestone for space exploration, China has publicly revealed lunar soil samples collected from the far side of the Moon for the first time.

The announcement coincides with China’s National Space Day, marking the 55th anniversary of the launch of its first satellite, Dong Fang Hong-1.

This achievement follows China’s groundbreaking mission in 2024, when it became the first country to successfully land on and retrieve samples from the Moon’s far side.

The soil samples, gathered by the Chang’e-6 probe from the Aitken Basin near the lunar south pole, were showcased at the Shanghai Expo Exhibition Center. Also on display were samples from the earlier Chang’e-5 mission in December 2020.

China's space agency began exploring the Moon’s far side in 2019 with the Chang’e-4 mission, during which the Yutu-2 rover operated for several months in uncharted lunar territory.

The mission led to the discovery of two types of mantle rocks, which had long been hypothesized but never directly observed.

The Chang’e-6 probe was launched on May 3, 2024, aboard a Long March 5 Y8 rocket from Wenchang Space Launch Site on Hainan Island.

It successfully landed on June 2 in the Aitken Basin and returned to Earth with nearly two kilograms of diverse lunar soil samples—the first ever collected from the Moon’s far side.

Vice Director of China’s Manned Space Agency, Lin Xiqiang, confirmed on April 23, 2025, that China is making successful preparations for a future crewed lunar mission.

Prototype testing for spacecraft, landers, spacesuits, and rovers is currently underway, with plans for the first Chinese astronaut to set foot on the Moon by 2030 to conduct scientific research.

Named after the mythical Moon goddess Chang’e, China’s lunar exploration program consists of multiple phases, including orbiting, landing, and sample-return missions.

The inaugural mission, Chang’e-1, launched in 2007 and operated until 2009, helping create the first thermal map of the Moon using data collected by Chinese scientists.