China’s space probe returns with rare Moon rocks

China’s lunar probe has returned to Earth with the first ever samples from the Moon’s unexplored far side.

The Chang’e-6 landed in the Inner Mongolia desert on Tuesday, after a nearly two-month long mission that was fraught with risks, state media report.

Scientists are eagerly awaiting the Chang’e 6 as the samples could answer key questions about how planets are formed.

China is the only country to have landed on the far side of the Moon, having done so before in 2019.

The far side – which faces away from Earth – is technically challenging to reach due to its distance, and its difficult terrain of giant craters and few flat surfaces.

The Chang’e 6 blasted off from a space centre in early May, and successfully landed on a crater close to the Moon’s south pole a few weeks later.

The probe used a drill and a robotic arm to scoop up soil and rocks, took some photos of the surface and planted a Chinese flag.

Beijing has poured huge resources into its space programme over the past decade in an effort to catch up to both the US and Russia.