China’s national space agency announced on Tuesday that a Chinese unmanned lunar probe is en route back to Earth after successfully gathering rock samples from the far side of the moon. The landing module of the Chang’e 6 spacecraft touched down on the moon’s far side on Sunday and departed from the lunar surface on Tuesday afternoon, as per the CNSA. The module, carrying the collected samples, has achieved its intended lunar orbit. Using a drill, the probe extracted samples from beneath the moon’s surface and gathered rocks from its floor. Equipment onboard, including contributions from the European Space Agency (ESA) and France, performed as planned, enduring the extreme temperatures of the lunar far side. The delicate lift-off was managed independently due to the lack of direct contact between the control center on Earth and the probe, relying instead on the Queqiao-2 relay satellite. Next, the space capsule will rendezvous with the Chang’e 6 spacecraft in lunar orbit, initiating the journey back to Earth. Anticipated landing is set for China’s northern autonomous region of Inner Mongolia by late June. This mission is pivotal for China’s space program, aiming to secure the first-ever return of soil and rock samples from the moon’s far side. It marks China’s sixth lunar mission since 2007, following the groundbreaking Chang’e 4’s landing on the moon’s far side in 2019 and the Chang’e 5’s sample collection from the near side in 2020. Launched on May 3 with a duration of 53 days, this mission targeted the South Pole-Aitken basin, a significant crater. China has expressed its intention to conduct a manned lunar mission by 2030, reflecting the renewed interest in lunar exploration among various nations due to the moon’s potential for valuable resources.