China's Chang'e 6 mission travels back to earth from the dark side of the moon | DW News

China’s Chang’e lunar probe has taken off from the far side of the moon to return back to earth, according to China’s national space agency.

If China successfully makes it back to earth, it will be the first country to have gathered samples from the far side of the moon.

China’s previous lunar mission, Chang’e 5, gathered samples from the near side of the moon, but collecting samples from the far side has required additional technical know-how as well as operating on more challenging terrain.

According to the China National Space Administration (CNSA), Chang’e 6 “withstood the test of high temperature on the far side of the moon.