NASA's Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO) has captured images of the Chinese Chang'e 6 module on the far side of the Moon.
Before/after animation showing the appearance of the Chang'e 6 module on the far side of the Moon. The increased brightness of the terrain around the module is due to disturbances caused by its engines, similar to blast zones seen around other lunar landers. The before image is dated March 3, 2022, and the after is from June 7, 2024.
Credit: NASA/GSFC/Arizona State University
The Chang'e 6 module, located near two similarly sized craters and on the edge of a subtler 164-foot (50-meter) wide crater, was spotted by the LRO on June 7, 2024, in the Apollo Basin.
The LRO team calculated the landing site's coordinates to be approximately 41.6 degrees north latitude and 206 degrees east longitude, with a horizontal precision of plus or minus 98 feet (30 meters). The disturbances caused by the module's engines increased the brightness of the surrounding terrain, a phenomenon previously observed with other lunar landers.
Chang'e 6 landed on a "sea" of cooled volcanic rock, south of the Apollo Basin. This region, south of Chaffee S crater, experienced basaltic lava eruptions about 3.1 billion years ago. This lava flowed eastwards until it encountered a local topographic height, likely associated with a fault.
The Chang'e 6 mission, launched on May 3 from the Hainan province in China, aims to return samples from the far side of the Moon. After collecting these valuable lunar materials, the payload component left the surface on June 3.
This image from NASA's Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter camera shows the Chinese Chang'e 6 module in the Apollo Basin on the far side of the Moon, on June 7, 2024. The module is visible as a small cluster of bright pixels in the center of the image.
Credit: NASA/GSFC/Arizona State University
The return segment is expected to land on Earth around June 25, parachuting into a predefined area in Siziwang Banner, Inner Mongolia. This return will mark the end of a 53-day mission.