25 June 2024 (return landing, Beijing time) / East Asia
Chang’e-6 returns the first lunar far-side samples
Chang’e-6 returned samples from the Moon’s far side to Inner Mongolia, providing direct material for comparing the geology of the lunar near and far sides.
The story
The return capsule landed in the designated Siziwang Banner area at 14:07 Beijing time on 25 June 2024. Supported by the Queqiao-2 relay, the robotic mission completed far-side landing, sampling, ascent and lunar-orbit rendezvous. The transferred samples weighed 1,935.3 grams. This was not a crewed landing, and returning samples did not itself resolve every question about lunar evolution.
Connections and context
Returned material lets laboratories test remote-sensing interpretations and compare lunar histories. Space engineering, careful preservation and multidisciplinary analysis continue to connect after the mission ends.
Dates and precision
25 June 2024 (return landing, Beijing time) Documented date
Positioned by the documented year, month or day. Missing precision is not inferred.
Representative map location
Siziwang Banner return region, Inner Mongolia
The Earth marker schematically represents the return region, not the lunar sampling site or an exact published touchdown coordinate.
Representative coordinates · 42.36°, 111.44°
A marker identifies one representative place, such as a manuscript collection, laboratory or observing site. It does not mean the work happened only there, or assign a shared discovery to one country.
Bibliography
- China National Space Administration: Chang’e-6 return and sample transfer
- 国家航天局：嫦娥六号月球样品交接
- 中国科学院国家天文台：嫦娥六号月球样品成分研究
References are listed as plain bibliography titles. They support particular facts or context; a reference does not certify every interpretation in a story.