VOA科学技术2024--China Launches Spacecraft to Far Side of the Moon

China launched a spacecraft to the moon's far side on Friday in a mission that aims to bring lunar soil and rocks to Earth.

A Long March 5 rocket carried the unmanned spacecraft, called Chang'e 6, to space. The launch took place at China's Wenchang space center in southern Hainan province. Chinese space officials declared the launch a success.

Chinese officials have said the spacecraft will attempt to land in an area of the South Pole called the Aitkin Basin. The area is known as the far side of the moon because it permanently¹ faces away from Earth.

NASA says the Aitkin Basin is the largest impact basin on the lunar surface. The distance from the basin's lower depths to its highest points is estimated to be over 15 kilometers. That is nearly twice the height of Earth's tallest mountain, Mount Everest.

If it makes a successful landing, mission leaders on the ground will direct the spacecraft to collect soil and rock from the lunar surface. During its planned 53-day mission, Chang'e 6 is expected to use its robotic equipment, including a drill, to identify and collect up to two kilograms of lunar material.

China's spacecraft will be carrying payloads from France, Italy, Sweden and Pakistan. U.S. law bans the American space agency NASA from cooperating - either directly or indirectly² - with China on space operations.

Under NASA's current plans for its Artemis program, U.S. astronauts are expected to land near the South Pole in 2026. This would represent the first human landing on the lunar surface since NASA's Apollo 17 mission in 1972.

China has additional unmanned lunar missions planned as well. Chang'e-7, in 2026, will aim to further explore the south polar area, including searching for water ice. In 2028, Chang'e-8 will carry out a series of technology tests in preparation for building a long-term science base on the moon. China is seeking to put its astronauts on the moon by 2030.

It is not the first time a Chinese spacecraft has collected material from the lunar surface. The country's Chang'e 5 spacecraft traveled to the moon in late 2020 and brought back about two kilograms of moon rocks and dust.

The mission was carried out in an area known as Oceanus Procellarum. It sits on the western edge of the near side of the moon, an area believed to have had intense volcanic³ activity in ancient times.

But the lack of volcanic activity on the moon's far side means there will be more craters⁵ to study that were not affected⁶ by ancient lava⁷ flows. This could give scientists new chances to learn more about the moon and the solar system's early development.

The Chang'e 5 mission made China only the third nation to collect lunar material and bring it to Earth, after the United States and the Soviet⁸ Union. The last such mission was in 1976, when an unmanned Soviet spacecraft collected 170 grams of moon material.

America's moon exploration program included six flights from 1969 to 1972. Those missions resulted in astronauts collecting a total of about 400 kilograms of lunar rocks and soil.

Leonard David is the writer of the book Moon Rush: The New Space Race. He told Reuters news agency that if successful, the upcoming mission would be "a milestone⁹-making event." David added that the material collected from the moon's far side should help researchers "fill in the blanks" about unknown details of the moon's formation.

Words in This Story

mission - n. an important project or trip, especially involving space travel

basin - n. a wide area of land that is more or less round in shape and lower than its surroundings

impact - n. the force or action of one object hitting another

drill - v. to use a tool or machine to make holes in a hard substance

payload -n. an amount of a material, measured by weight, that is take from one place to another by a vehicle

crater⁴ - n. a hole left in the ground by an object that hits it with a huge force

lava - n. hot melted rock that comes out of a volcano

milestone - n. an important event in history of the development of a person or group

fill in the blank - idiom to provide missing information

1 permanently   

adv.永恒地，永久地，固定不变地

参考例句：

• The accident left him permanently scarred.那次事故给他留下了永久的伤疤。
• The ship is now permanently moored on the Thames in London.该船现在永久地停泊在伦敦泰晤士河边。

2 indirectly   

adv.间接地，不直接了当地

参考例句：

• I heard the news indirectly.这消息我是间接听来的。
• They were approached indirectly through an intermediary.通过一位中间人，他们进行了间接接触。

3 volcanic   

adj.火山的；象火山的；由火山引起的

参考例句：

• There have been several volcanic eruptions this year.今年火山爆发了好几次。
• Volcanic activity has created thermal springs and boiling mud pools.火山活动产生了温泉和沸腾的泥浆池。

4 crater   

n.火山口，弹坑

参考例句：

• With a telescope you can see the huge crater of Ve-suvius.用望远镜你能看到巨大的维苏威火山口。
• They came to the lip of a dead crater.他们来到了一个死火山口。

5 craters   

n.火山口( crater的名词复数 )；弹坑等

参考例句：

• Small meteorites have left impact craters all over the planet's surface. 这个行星的表面布满了小块陨石留下的撞击坑。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The battlefield was full of craters made by exploding shells. 战场上布满弹坑。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》

6 affected   

adj.不自然的，假装的

参考例句：

• She showed an affected interest in our subject.她假装对我们的课题感到兴趣。
• His manners are affected.他的态度不自然。

7 lava   

n.熔岩，火山岩

参考例句：

• The lava flowed down the sides of the volcano.熔岩沿火山坡面涌流而下。
• His anger spilled out like lava.他的愤怒像火山爆发似的迸发出来。

8 Soviet   

adj.苏联的，苏维埃的；n.苏维埃

参考例句：

• Zhukov was a marshal of the former Soviet Union.朱可夫是前苏联的一位元帅。
• Germany began to attack the Soviet Union in 1941.德国在1941年开始进攻苏联。

9 milestone   

n.里程碑；划时代的事件

参考例句：

• The film proved to be a milestone in the history of cinema.事实证明这部影片是电影史上的一个里程碑。
• I think this is a very important milestone in the relations between our two countries.我认为这是我们两国关系中一个十分重要的里程碑。