Chang'e-6 (59627)

Payload

The payload included a lander, an ascender, an orbiter, and a returner. The lander was equipped with instruments for sample collection, while the ascender transported the samples to lunar orbit for transfer to the returner.

Purpose

Lunar sample return from the far side of the Moon.

Mission

Chang'e-6 was China's second lunar sample-return mission, aiming to collect and return samples from the far side of the Moon, specifically from the South Pole-Aitken Basin. The mission successfully returned the world's first samples collected from the Moon's far side.

Manufacturer

Shanghai Academy of Spaceflight Technology (SAST)

Life Expectancy

The mission lasted approximately 53 days, from launch on May 3, 2024, to the return of the sample capsule on June 25, 2024.

Bus

CE-6

Configuration

Lunar Sample Return

Motor

Main engine for lunar orbit insertion and descent, ascent engine for returning lunar samples to orbit.

Equipment

The Chang'e-6 mission carried several international payloads, including a RadoN detector from France, a lunar surface negative ion analyzer from the European Space Agency, a laser angle reflector from Italy, and a cube satellite from Pakistan.

Power System

The spacecraft utilized deployable solar arrays and batteries to power its systems during various mission phases.

ADCS

Three-axis stabilized using star trackers and gyroscopes.

Transmitter Frequency

X-band for communication with Earth; S-band for communication between modules.