Last night, China achieved a first by successfully soft-landing a spacecraft in a crater on the far side of the Moon. The achievement is not only impressive, it also opens the way for scientist to explore the Aitken Basin and figure out exactly how old this giant crater is.
As The Verge reports, exploring the far side of the Moon is a very difficult task because it's always facing away from the Earth meaning communication is extremely difficult. China solved that problem last year when it launched a lunar satellite called Queqiao, which now acts as the communication link between the lander and Earth.
What does the far side of the moon look like?
China's Chang'e-4 probe gives you the answer.
It landed on the never-visible side of the moon Jan. 3 https://t.co/KVCEhLuHKT pic.twitter.com/BiKjh7Fv22 — China Xinhua News (@XHNews) January 3, 2019
The so-called Chang'e 4 lunar exploration mission consists of four components: the Queqiao satellite to enable communication, two microsatellites for sky observation (only one is functioning), the lander which touched down yesterday, and the rover it contains. It's expected the lander will now extend a ramp to allow the rover to drive on to the lunar surface.
As Wikipedia details, the rover carries a panoramic camera, lunar penetrating radar, visible and near-infrared imaging spectrometer, and an advanced small analyzer for neutralis. The lander has a landing camera, terrain camera, low frequency spectrometer, a neutron dosimeter, and a 3kg (6.6lbs) sealed biosphere. Inside that biosphere is a range of seeds and insect eggs which will be monitored by a miniature camera. The experiment aims to test whether the eggs will hatch and the seeds will grow.