The Chang’e-6 mission plans to return geological samples from the farside of the Moon by 2025. The spacecraft will land in the four-billion-year-old Apollo crater within the South Pole–Aitken basin: three candidate sites within the crater have been identified and their scientific potential for sample collection has been explored.
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References
Li, Q.-L. et al. Two-billion-year-old volcanism on the Moon from Chang’e-5 basalts. Nature 600, 54–58 (2021). This article presents the geologic age of the lunar sample returned by Chang’e-5.
Liu, J. et al. Landing site selection and overview of China’s lunar landing missions. Space Sci. Rev. 217, 6 (2021). A review article that sets out the science objectives of Chang’e-5 mission, which are similar to those of Chang’e-6.
Moriarty, D. P. & Pieters, C. M. The character of South Pole–Aitken basin: patterns of surface and subsurface composition. J. Geophys. Res. Planets 123, 729–747 (2018). This article gives information about the composition of materials around the South Pole–Aitken basin.
Ivanov, M. et al. Geologic history of the northern portion of the South Pole–Aitken basin on the Moon. J. Geophys. Res. Planets 123, 2585–2612 (2018). An article that covers the geologic history of the South Pole–Aitken basin.
National Research Council The Scientific Context for Exploration of the Moon (National Academies Press, 2007). This Consensus Study Report presents the scientific value of studying the South Pole–Aitken basin.
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This is a summary of: Zeng, X. et al. Landing site of the Chang’e-6 lunar farside sample return mission from the Apollo basin. Nat. Astron. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41550-023-02038-1 (2023).
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Where should Chang’e-6 collect samples on the farside of the Moon?. Nat Astron 7, 1158–1159 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41550-023-02039-0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41550-023-02039-0
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