|
After receiving the samples, the uncrewed spacecraft will fly
back to Earth, with an expected landing in China's Inner
Mongolia region on June 25. If successful, China will be the
first country to ever return lunar matter from the side of the
moon that permanently faces away from Earth.
The Chang'e-6 probe took off from the moon's far side on
Tuesday, after spending two days on the surface digging up
samples. While on the moon, the probe unfurled a Chinese flag
made of basalt, a material that is abundant on the lunar
surface, Xinhua said.
The mission has been a source of national pride in China. The
probe's launch in May drew thousands of tourists to the southern
island province of Hainan and its every subsequent move, from
landing on the moon's far side to the return journey to Earth,
has been a viral item on Chinese social media.
The successful transfer on Thursday of the precious samples,
which scientists hope can reveal more about the origins of the
solar system, also comes as the United States expresses growing
concerns about the advances in China's lunar and space
exploration programs.
Asked about the Chang'e-6 mission on Wednesday, U.S. space
agency NASA chief Bill Nelson congratulated China but asked it
to be more open about its space activities.
Nelson has repeatedly warned that the United States was in a
"space race" with China to go back to the moon and that China
would claim any water resources it found there as its own.
Responding to Nelson's comments, Chinese foreign ministry
spokesperson Mao Ning said on Thursday that the Chang'e-6
probe's successful sampling on, and departure from, the moon's
far side represented historic steps for "mankind's peaceful use
of outer space" and that many countries praised the mission.
Mao also criticized the Wolf Amendment, a law passed by the U.S.
Congress in 2011 that banned NASA from collaboration with "China
or any Chinese-owned company unless such activities are
specifically authorized."
"Current China-U.S. space cooperation faces some problems and
difficulties, the root cause is that U.S. domestic laws such as
the Wolf Amendment have hindered normal exchanges and dialogues
between the two countries' space agencies," Mao said.
(Reporting by Eduardo Baptista; Editing by Jacqueline Wong)
[© 2024 Thomson Reuters. All rights
reserved.]
Copyright 2022 Reuters. All rights reserved. This material may
not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
Thompson Reuters is solely responsible for this content.
|
|
