The story behind the world's first lunar soil sampling

380,000 km

is the distance from the Earth to the Moon

Since ancient times

People's Moon

Look at it, yearn for it

A First Look at the Past Moon

Later sampling returns

China's "Chang'e" starts its journey to the moon again and again

Just yesterday

Chang'e 6 carries the first lunar samples

Safe return to Earth

How were these samples dug out?

Digging on the Moon

What's the difference between this and digging in the earth?

Xinhua News Agency interviewed

International Astronautical Federation Space Transportation Committee

Vice Chairman Yang Yuguang

Telling the story behind the world's first lunar soil sampling

1

Chang'e 6

An "archaeological" journey to Guanghan Palace

More than 4 billion years ago

A diameter of approximately

A small celestial body of 100 kilometers hit the moon

The diameter of the current ocean is more than 2,500 kilometers.

Aitken Basin

Afterwards

Multiple collisions not only caused

The deep lunar material

This also makes the area densely covered with basins

"A pit within a pit"

Apollo Basin

This is where Chang'e 6 landed on the moon.

According to Yang Yuguang

The reason why I chose to land here

Apart from engineering feasibility

This is where the greatest scientific value lies.

"If we're lucky enough

Can be obtained from the far side of the moon

It's very far away from this era

Rock and soil samples"

And the rock soil samples are so old

It is hard for us to get it on earth.

therefore

Many Chinese people romantically call it

Chang'e 6 is "going to Guanghan Palace for archaeological excavation"

2

Digging on the back of the moon

“We are very careful throughout the process.”

Over the years

Humans have returned samples from the moon 10 times

All taken from the front of the moon

As for the exploration of the far side of the moon

So far, only China's Chang'e has successfully achieved this twice.

But even if it is the second visit to the far side of the moon

With Chang'e 5

Chang'e 6 has the same technical status

This trip is not easy

We need to go to the far side of the moon while avoiding risks

The moon's back support is weak

Plus the road on the back of the moon is rough

Spacecraft undergoes extreme tests

…

The difficulties of going back and forth are huge

Many challenges

As Yang Yuguang said

"We're going to the back of the moon

Not because it's easy

Precisely because it is difficult.”

“We are very careful throughout the process.”

As "the only two times humans have explored the back side of the moon"

China's "Chang'e" in this field

One step ahead

3

Going to deep space

The moon may be the first stop for humans

Since ancient times

The moon has played a vital role in the history of human civilization.

They all play a very important role

For thousands of years

People continue to try to understand the moon

As human exploration of the moon continues to expand

The unique vacuum and low gravity environment on the moon

As well as helium-3 resources, various mineral resources and water

Maybe it can benefit mankind in the future

Yang Yuguang Introduction

With the continuous improvement of human aerospace technology

And human probes travel back and forth between the Earth and the Moon again and again

The scale of development and utilization of lunar resources

It will definitely get bigger

"Sooner or later one day

The moon will become human

Towards a deep space outpost

For humans on a larger scale

"It lays the foundation for the development of the great aerospace era"

Source: Xinhuanet Xinhua Interview