Chang’e-6 moon mission returns to Earth with historic far side samples

View In Browser June 26, 2024    Simone McCarthy Chang'e-6 moon mission returns to Earth with historic far side samples China's Chang'e-6 lunar module returned to Earth Tuesday, successfully completing its historic mission to collect the first ever samples from the far side of the moon in a major step forward for the country's ambitious space program.   The reentry module "successfully landed" in a designated zone in China's northern Inner Mongolia region just after 2 p.m. local time, according to state broadcaster CCTV. A livestream carried by CCTV showed the module touching down via parachute to a round of applause in the mission control room.   "The Chang'e-6 lunar exploration mission has been a complete success," said Zhang Kejian, head of the China National Space Administration (CNSA), from the control room.   A search team located the module minutes after its landing, according to CCTV. The livestream showed a worker carrying out checks on the module, which lay on grassland beside a Chinese flag.   The successful mission is a key milestone in China's "eternal dream" – as articulated by Chinese leader Xi Jinping – to establish the country as a dominant space power and comes as a number of countries, including the United States, also ramp up their own lunar exploration programs.   In a congratulatory message Tuesday, Xi hailed the mission as "another landmark achievement in building a strong country in space, and science and technology."   Beijing plans to send astronauts to the moon by 2030 and build a research base at the lunar south pole – a region believed to contain water ice, where the US also hopes to establish a base.   The Chang'e-6 probe is expected to have returned to Earth with up to 2 kilograms of moon dust and rocks from the lunar far side, which will be analyzed by researchers in China before being opened for access by international scientists, according to the CNSA.   Results from the analysis of the samples could help scientists peer back into the evolution of the moon, the Earth and the solar system – while also aiding China's aim to utilize resources on the moon to further its exploration there, experts say.   The samples were collected using a drill and robotic arm from a location within the sprawling South Pole-Aitken basin, an impact crater formed some 4 billion years ago on the moon's far side, which is never visible to Earth.   An ascender then lifted them off the lunar surface and transferred them in lunar orbit to a re-entry vehicle, which then traveled back to Earth after separating from its lunar orbiter.   The progress of Chang'e-6 – China's most technically complex mission to date – has been followed with intense interest within the country since its launch on May 3.   Earlier this month, images of the lunar lander displaying the Chinese flag and appearing to have drilled the character "zhong" – shorthand for China – on the lunar surface went viral on Chinese social media.   Keep reading about the landmark mission.   More on China's space ambitions: China has sent its youngest-ever astronaut crew to the Tiangong space station America's military has the edge in space. China and Russia are in a counterspace race to disrupt it Sky fall Suspected debris from a Chinese rocket was seen plummeting to the ground over a village in southwest China on Saturday, leaving a trail of bright yellow smoke and sending villagers running, according to videos on Chinese social media and sent to CNN by a local witness.   The dramatic footage surfaced online shortly after a Long March 2C carrier rocket blasted off at 3p.m. local time Saturday (3 a.m. Eastern Time) from the Xichang Satellite Launch Center in the southwestern province of Sichuan.   Markus Schiller, a rocket expert and associate senior researcher at the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute, said the debris appeared to be the first-stage booster of the Long March 2C rocket, which uses a highly toxic and carcinogenic liquid propellant.    Read more here. Japanese mother and child stabbed in front of school bus A Japanese woman and her child were among three people stabbed by a man on Monday in front of a school bus at a bus stop in eastern China, according to authorities in both countries.   A Chinese woman school bus attendant was also critically injured in the attack in Suzhou, Jiangsu province, an official with the Japanese Nationals Overseas Safety Division of Japan's Foreign Ministry told CNN.   The mother and child did not suffer life-threatening injuries and were taken to hospital to receive care, the official said, adding that the attack took place as the mother waited to pick up her child at a bus stop near a Japanese school.   The Japanese consulate in nearby Shanghai said "a man, possibly Chinese" attacked the mother and her child with a knife.   In a statement Tuesday, police in Suzhou said they arrested an unemployed 52-year-old suspect at the scene, identified by his surname Zhou.   A Chinese national who tried to stop the knife attack was critically injured and was still fighting for their life, police said. One of the injured Japanese nationals had been discharged from hospital, police added.   "The investigation of the case is ongoing, and the criminal behavior will be severely punished in accordance with the law and regulations," the statement said.   China's Foreign Ministry on Tuesday expressed regret over the stabbing and vowed to take effective measures to protect foreigners' safety in the country.   "Such isolated incidents may happen in any country in the world," spokesperson Mao Ning told a regular news briefing.   Attacks against foreigners are rare in China, but Monday's stabbing is the second such incident this month in the powerful security state, after four instructors from a US college were stabbed by a Chinese man at a park in the northeastern city of Jilin.   A Chinese tourist who tried to intervene in that June 10 attack was also stabbed, but no one suffered life-threatening injuries, according to police. The 55-year-old suspect in the Jilin attack was arrested but police have not revealed his motive.   Read the full story here.   — From CNN's Himari Semans and Nectar Gan   Premier warns against 'vicious cycle' of decoupling from the West Chinese Premier Li Qiang has warned against a "vicious cycle" of economic decoupling from the West, as Beijing struggles to contain rising global pushback over soaring electric vehicle (EV) exports.   Speaking to international executives at the "Summer Davos" forum in the northeastern city of Dalian on Tuesday, Li also defended his country against accusations that Chinese overcapacity in key green industries has led to dumping of products such as EVs and solar panels on global markets.   "If countries only consider maximizing their own interests, if we ignore the interests of others, and even go back in history and engage in decoupling … it will only raise the economic operating costs of the entire society and the world," he said.   This will "drag countries … into a vicious cycle of scrambling for a cake that becomes smaller and smaller," Li added. "This is something that we don't want to see."   The remarks by China's second most powerful leader after Xi Jinping come a day after Canada became the latest Western country to consider imposing tariffs on EVs made in China. The Canadian government said on Monday that its workers faced "unfair competition" from Beijing's "state-directed policy of overcapacity." It will begin a 30-day public consultation period next month to assess possible responses.   Last month, the Biden administration quadrupled tariffs on EV imports from China, from 25% to 100%, aiming to protect American jobs and manufacturing. Chinese EV sales to the United States are tiny.   However, the challenges facing China's EV makers grew when a much larger market followed suit weeks later. The European Union, the biggest overseas buyer of Chinese EVs, announced additional provisional tariffs earlier this month because of what it called Beijing's unfair support for companies that undercut European carmakers.   Read the full story here.   — From CNN's Juliana Liu and Joyce Jiang Around the region This North Korean defector sends massive "smart" balloons back home. Here's a look inside his secretive assembly room in a small apartment in Seoul. South Korea spotted another 350 North Korean balloons "presumed" to be carrying waste, reigniting a tit-for-tat exchange as tensions simmer on the Korean Peninsula. Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi will visit Russia for the first time since the Kremlin's invasion of Ukraine, in a trip that highlights the growing ties between the two countries despite New Delhi's close relationship with Washington. Japanese instant noodle giant Nissin Foods has released a new flavor for its Cup Noodle: the luxurious and potentially poisonous pufferfish. Meanwhile in China, torrential storms that have brought widespread flooding to the south are moving inland, prompting the national weather service to issue its most severe rainstorm alert and warnings of further flash floods and mudslides in the coming days. And in sports, 7-foot-3 teenage basketball star Zhang Ziyu made headlines after dominating at the FIBA Under-18 Women's Asia Cup, helping China remain unbeaten in its first two games. What did you think of today's email? Send us feedback: meanwhileinchina@cnn.com   You are receiving this newsletter because you signed up for Meanwhile in China. To stop receiving this newsletter, unsubscribe or sign up to manage your CNN account   Learn more about the CNN app |  Get CNN web alerts  |  Sign up for a free CNN account   ® © 2024 Cable News Network. A Warner Bros. Discovery Company. 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