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China will be the first to retrieve soil samples from the far side of the Moon


The Chang’e 6 spacecraft is heading back to Earth.

China’s Chang’e 6 spacecraft lifted off from the lunar surface today, bringing with it the first samples taken from the far side of the Moon. A second lunar satellite, Queqiao-2, that launched earlier this year sent data from the probe back to scientists, allowing them to make sampling decisions from Earth. The Chang’e 6 ascender is supposed to rendezvous with a separate spacecraft in lunar orbit and then wait for the best time to return to Earth at a landing site in Inner Mongolia.

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