时间:2025-07-19 08:49:30 来源:网络整理编辑:時尚
The 21st-century space race is heating up.China announced that, for the second time, it landed an un
The 21st-century space race is heating up.
China announced that, for the second time, it landed an uncrewed spacecraft on the far side of the moon. The nation's Chang’e-6 lunar probe touched down in the South Pole-Aitken Basin, the largest impact basin on the moon, on June 2. The China National Space Administration previously landed on the far side in 2019, and has ambitious plans to land humans on the lunar surface by 2030. (NASA remains the only country to land people on the moon.)
China's space agency released video footage of the latest successful landing, which you can see in the video below, from the government-funded China Central Television, or CCTV. The lunar footage starts near the beginning of the short video, occurring between 7 and 45 seconds in. The sped-up frames show how the spacecraft hovered 100 meters (nearly 110 yards) above the surface, where it autonomously used lasers to locate lunar obstacles (like rocks or pits), before finally descending.
SEE ALSO:Why landing a spaceship on the moon is still so challengingLanding was just the start of the mission's lunar endeavors. Now, China aims to robotically collect samples and return them to Earth.
"The Chang'e-6 mission is the first human sampling and return mission from the far side of the moon," the China National Space Administration said in a statement. "It involves many engineering innovations, high risks, and great difficulty."
Tweet may have been deleted
Now, after deploying solar panels, the craft will use drills and robotic arms to collect rocks and soil. Then, an ascent vehicle, currently sitting atop the lander, will launch off the moon, ferrying these prized samples to an awaiting orbiter in space. Ultimately, the samples will plunge back to Earth in a protected capsule — similar to China's successful moon rock return in 2020.
China isn't the only entity to robotically land on the moon in 2024 — though its landing appears to be the most successful. In January, Japan's SLIM spacecraft landed on its head, though it made an unprecedented precision landing (coming within 10 meters, or some 30 feet, of its target). The following month, a mission largely funded by NASA snapped a leg during an off-kilter landing, and came to rest slumped on its side. These events underscore how challenging it remains to land on the moon — a world with virtually no atmosphere to help slow a spacecraft down, nor GPS guidance to assist with a controlled descent.
NASA, however, has successfully landed six crewed missions on the moon, over a half-century ago. And it aims to soon return. The space agency's looming Artemis 3 mission is currently slated to land in September 2026. Astronauts will head to the moon's south pole, where scientists suspect water is preserved in ancient, shadowy craters.
TopicsNASA
Hiddleswift finally followed each other on Instagram after 3 excruciating days2025-07-19 08:45
利物浦切爾西身價 :總和18億歐 薩拉赫戰平盧卡庫2025-07-19 08:02
女足“奧運組合隊”正在集訓 記者:水慶霞想換傷員沒成功2025-07-19 08:01
尤文前瞻:C羅走後誰扛進攻大旗 數據示贏球無懸念2025-07-19 07:49
PlayStation Now game streaming is coming to PC2025-07-19 07:42
鐵血藍軍回歸 !少打1人仍遊刃有餘 門神如有神助2025-07-19 07:05
官方:切爾西名宿切赫加盟冰球隊 生涯第二次出征2025-07-19 07:01
戰術板:藍軍長傳防反有聲有色 紅軍陣地進攻收效甚微2025-07-19 06:37
Here's George Takei chilling in zero gravity for the 'Star Trek' anniversary2025-07-19 06:20
沒梅西更不會踢!格刀比賽數據慘淡 遭巴薩球迷狂噓2025-07-19 06:19
Did our grandparents have the best beauty advice?2025-07-19 08:46
曝哈蘭德已拒絕巴黎邀請 今夏留隊隻想明夏去皇馬2025-07-19 08:22
張稀哲 :天氣場地時差都不存在問題 這次12強賽更有信心2025-07-19 08:06
羅馬前瞻 :穆氏紅狼衝正賽4連勝 亞伯拉罕爭處子球2025-07-19 07:57
Make money or go to Stanford? Katie Ledecky is left with an unfair choice.2025-07-19 07:52
巴黎首發:梅西替補待命或迎首秀 內少姆巴佩領銜2025-07-19 07:45
澳主帥期待12強賽強勢開局 部分有實力的澳超球員未入選2025-07-19 07:35
轉會通 :尤文7000萬歐追C羅替身 阿森納還要再砸錢2025-07-19 06:48
Mom discovers security cameras hacked, kids' bedroom livestreamed2025-07-19 06:27
董方卓感慨C羅回歸曼聯 和網友們調侃 :我等等冬窗2025-07-19 06:15