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China launches world-first mission to retrieve samples from far side of moon

The Chang’e 6 mission will advance Beijing’s ambitions to become a space power and scientific force, but its steady progress has caused concern at NASA and in Congress.

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Updated May 3, 2024 at 8:59 a.m. EDT|Published May 2, 2024 at 6:00 p.m. EDT
A Long March 5 rocket, carrying the Chang'e 6 mission lunar probe, lifts off amid rain at the Wenchang Space Launch Site in southern China's Hainan Province on Friday. (Hector Retamal/AFP/Getty Images)
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China on Friday embarked on one of its most ambitious space missions yet: the launch of a probe to retrieve samples from the far side of the moon and bring them back to Earth within two months.

If successful, it would be a first, for any country.

Beijing has ambitions to become a space power and scientific force, laying out plans to land Chinese astronauts on the lunar surface by 2030 and set up a base at the moon’s south pole. This has created a new frontier in its broad rivalry with the United States, which also includes computer chips and solar panels.