China launched the Chang’e-4 lunar probe mission, which will land a rover on the far side of the moon, a global first.
About:
The Chang’e-4 lunar probe mission — named after the moon goddess in Chinese mythology — launched on a Long March 3B rocket from the southwestern Xichang launch centre.
It is expected to land on the far side of the Moon around the New Year to carry out experiments and survey the terrain.
Significance:
Chang’e-4 is humanity’s first probe to explore the far side of the moon. No lander or rover has ever touched the surface there.
Unlike the near side of the moon that is “tidally locked” and always faces the earth, and offers many flat areas to touch down on, the far side is mountainous and rugged.
It was not until 1959 that the Soviet Union captured the first images of the heavily cratered surface, uncloaking some of the mystery of the moon’s “dark side”.
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