BEIJING, June 6 (Xinhua) — The ascent of China’s Chang’e-6 spacecraft successfully docked with the spacecraft’s orbiter-returner assembly in lunar orbit at 2:48 p.m. (Beijing time) on Thursday, the China National Space Administration (CNSA) announced.
The container carrying the world’s first samples from the far side of the Moon was safely transferred back from the ascent at 3:24 p.m., CNSA said.
After ascending from the far side of the moon and entering lunar orbit on Tuesday morning, it made four orbital changes. When the climber was about 50 km ahead and 10 km above the orbiter-returner combination, the combination gradually approached the ascent through short-range autonomous control and clawed.
This is the second time a Chinese spacecraft has carried out rendezvous and docking in lunar orbit, with Chang’e-5 in 2020 realizing the first one.
The orbiter-returner combination then separates from the ascent and prepares to return to Earth in time.
After Moon-Earth transfer and separation from orbit and the returner, the returner is expected to land with lunar samples at the Xiwang Banner in northern China’s Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region as planned.
The Chang’e-6 probe, which consists of an orbiter, a lander, an ascent and a returner, was launched on May 3. Its lander-ascendant combination touched down at the designated landing area at the moon’s far south pole-Aitken Basin. On June 2, sampling was done over two days. The lander, loaded with precious samples, lifted off from the lunar surface and entered a pre-set lunar orbit on Tuesday morning.
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