China shoots for the moon

Historic expedition: The screen at the Beijing Aerospace Control Center shows the lander of the Chang’e 4 probe (right) and the rover Yutu 2 taking photos of each other. — AP

TOWARDS the end of last year, China launched a major space mission to send a lunar lander to explore the far side of the moon, which is mostly unknown territory. This historic expedition that began on Dec 8 will probably help scientists to uncover more secrets about the moon.

After a 26-day space journey, Chang’e 4 became the first spacecraft to touch down on the so-called dark side of the moon. Although this area has been extensively photographed, no probe had made a soft-landing there until now.