AntarikshPedia
Chang’e 6

2021–Present: Lunar Return, New Stations and Deep-Space Science

Chang’e 6

First samples returned from the lunar far side.

Era 6 of 6 · full record in the catalog

Launch
year known only: 2024
Lead / partner
China
Target
Moon far side
Category
Lunar sample return
Status
Success
Vehicle
Long March 5
Mass
unknown
Orbit / trajectory
unknown

Why it happened

Chang’e 6 flew during 2021–Present: Lunar Return, New Stations and Deep-Space Science, as part of China's work toward moon far side. A sourced write-up of the context around this mission is still on the editorial queue; nothing here is invented to fill the gap.

The mission

The full narrative of this mission is pending research and writing. What is recorded so far: First samples returned from the lunar far side.

Results

First samples returned from the lunar far side.

Related missions

Chang’e 6 Chang’e 4 — same_target Chang’e 4 Chang’e 5 — same_program Chang’e 5 Europa Clipper — competitor Europa Clipper Hera — competitor Hera

Hera

In transit

ESA · 2024

Sources & image credits

  • BugWarp, via Wikimedia Commons · CC BY-SA 4.0 · license: cc-by-sa-4.0 (source, checked 2026-08-23)
  • Mission record: AntarikshPedia canonical dataset (data-sources/missions_timeline.md)
  • Specifications reference: NASA NSSDCA Master Catalog