WENCHANG SPACE LAUNCH SITE, China — In a historic feat, China successfully launched an uncrewed lunar spacecraft on Friday, marking the beginning of a pioneering mission to retrieve samples from the far side of the moon. The Chang’e 6 spacecraft lifted off precisely at 5:27 p.m. local time (5:27 a.m. ET) from the Wenchang Space Launch Site in China’s southern island province of Hainan.
The launch, which was attended by a select group of news organizations including NBC News, generated national excitement and transformed the usually tranquil fishing village of Longlou into a bustling tourist hub. Crowds poured in from tour buses, flocking to beaches and rooftops to catch a glimpse of the historic event. One rooftop owner even reported selling out all 200 seats at 200 yuan (approximately $28) each.
Prior to liftoff, the beach area had a festive vibe, with vendors selling space-themed memorabilia and children peddling Chinese flags for 3 yuan (about 40 cents) each. Families lounged on picnic blankets, playing cards, while others set up hammocks between palm trees to relax in the shade.
Twenty-eight-year-old Yiuwah Ng, a real estate office worker from Zhuhai, traveled for nine hours by car and ferry to secure the best spot along the shore. He had been camping there for three days with friends and his dog, eager to witness the historic moment. “I want to witness this historic moment,” he said of the launch, his fourth. “It’s an important first step for China’s lunar exploration.”
Max Zhang, a self-proclaimed “rocket chaser” from Guangzhou, has been photographing launches at Wenchang since 2011. “I’m addicted to the shock of seeing the launches, especially the sound of the rocket flame,” he said. “It shakes my heart.”
The success of the Chang’e 6 mission carries significance beyond China's borders, symbolizing a major advancement in the country's rapidly developing space program. China is eager to demonstrate its space capabilities, competing with nations like the United States, Russia, India, and Japan in what experts describe as a new space race.
According to Clayton Swope, deputy director of the Aerospace Security Project at the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington, China has made remarkable progress in its space capabilities over the past 25 years. “Going from that to where they are today — I think they’ve clearly exceeded Russia and their space capabilities are really only second to the United States,” he remarked.
China achieved its first moon landing in 2013 with the Chang’e 3 mission, followed by another historic milestone in 2019 with the Chang’e 4 mission, which landed a probe on the far side of the moon, a feat no other country had achieved. In 2020, China furthered its lunar exploration with the Chang’e 5 mission, which retrieved samples from the moon’s near side.
The current Chang’e 6 mission aims to land and collect samples from the South Pole-Aitken basin, an ancient impact crater on the far side of the moon. This presents a unique challenge, as direct communication with spacecraft in that region is not possible. Signals must be relayed through a satellite that China launched to orbit the moon last month.
The scientific implications of this mission are profound. By collecting samples from the far side, which is believed to have been less volcanically active than the near side, researchers hope to gain a more comprehensive understanding of the moon's origin and evolution.
Additionally, the mission holds geopolitical significance, serving as a precursor to future Chinese robotic missions to scout locations for a moon base. China and Russia have also agreed to jointly build a research station on the lunar surface, further emphasizing the competitive nature of space exploration.
Despite these competitive undertones, space exploration has the potential to unify nations. As Swope notes, “When we go to the moon or explore space, we as humankind have that shared human trait where we want to understand the unknown and we want to discover. That does transcend politics.”