"Passenger" on board

Chinese spacecraft reached lunar orbit

Chang'e 6 in the assembly hall: If you look closely, you can see a "passenger" with wheels at the top left. It appears to be a mini-rover.(Bild: China Academy of Space Technology)

The Chinese spacecraft "Chang'e 6" has cleared an important hurdle on its way to landing on the far side of the moon: "Chang'e 6" successfully entered lunar orbit, the state news agency Xinhua reported on Wednesday, citing the Chinese space agency.

In the next stage of the mission, the height and inclination of the probe will now be adjusted and a suitable time for the separation of the landing module for the lunar surface will be selected later. The current mission is scheduled to last around 53 days in total.

The launch from the southern Chinese island of Hainan attracted numerous onlookers.(Bild: AFP/APA/Hector Retamal)

"Chang'e 6" was launched last Friday. The unmanned lunar probe is to land on the far side of the moon and bring rock samples back to earth from there for the first time. It is the sixth lunar mission by the Chinese since 2007. The last time "Chang'e 5" brought samples from the front of the moon to Earth for examination was in 2020.

Prior to that, a rover had landed on the far side of the moon for the first time in 2019 with "Chang'e 4" and explored the terrain there. Chang'e also appears to be carrying a small rover: Pictures of the probe in the assembly hall show a small vehicle with white wheels attached to it.