Mysterious Rover Tags Along on Chinese Lunar Mission
Newly released images of Chang'e 6, China's latest lunar mission, reveal a small rover attached to the lander.
On May 3, the China Academy of Space Technology (CAST) successfully launched its Long March 5 rocket carrying the Chang'e 6 mission elements into space. They entered lunar orbit on May 8. Chang'e 6 is set to make history as the first mission to retrieve samples from the Moon's far side.
A Moon Rover Mystery
The centerpiece of the mission is a lander scheduled to touch down on the Moon in early June. Once there, it will collect lunar surface samples, load them into a return module, and launch them back to Earth, much like the Chang'e 5 mission. That mission successfully landed on the Moon in 2020 and returned samples a few months later.
Little was revealed about the Chang'e 6 mission before launch, except that it would carry payloads from France, Sweden, Italy, and Pakistan. But after the launch, CAST released new photos showing a small, wheeled rover attached to the side of the lunar lander, Space reported on May 8.
The rover's exact mission is still unclear. However, it has an infrared imaging spectrometer, according to the Shanghai Institute of Ceramics, which provided some components for Chang'e 6. Given the rover's size and the harsh conditions on the Moon, it will likely have a relatively short mission.
CAST already has a rover, Yutu-2, on the far side of the Moon, where it landed in 2019 as part of the Chang'e 4 mission—the world's first successful landing on the Moon's far side. Yutu-2 has made some significant discoveries, including tiny glass beads on the Moon's surface.
Aiming for a Human Moon Landing
CAST's ultimate goal is to send humans to the Moon by 2030. The agency is set to begin test flights of a new, reusable, heavy-lift rocket next year. As with the rover, though, details of this mission remain tightly under wraps.
Summary
China's Chang'e 6 mission carries a mysterious rover attached to the lunar lander. The rover's mission is unclear, but it may use an infrared spectrometer to analyze the lunar surface. CAST is also working on a reusable rocket for future human Moon missions.