A Chinese lunar rover has become the first to land on the far side of the moon.
The Chang’e-4 probe touched down today (Thursday 3 January) and sent a photo of the so-called “dark side” of the moon to the Queqiao satellite.
The Chang’e-4 lunar probe mission launched in December from southwestern Xichang.
The far side – or dark side – of the moon is much more mountainous than the near side, and this is the first time any craft has touched down there.
The moon is tidally locked to the Earth, so we are always facing the same side. This means there is no direct line of sight for signals to the far side.
The Chang’e-4 mission solved the problem by sending the Queqiao satellite into orbit around the moon, which could relay data between the lander and Earth.
The moon experiences extremes of temperature – from -173 degrees C to 127 degrees C over the course of one lunar day and night. This means the rover’s instruments had to be tough enough to withstand these fluctuations.
Beijing is planning to send another lunar lander, Chang’e-5, next year to collect samples and bring them back to Earth.