Chinese spacecraft lands on far side of the Moon

The Moon program is part of a growing rivalry with the US and others, including Japan and India

A Chinese spacecraft has landed on the far side of the Moon to collect soil and rock samples.

The landing module touched down in a huge crater known as the South Pole-Aitken Basin, the China National Space Administration said.

The mission is the sixth in the Chang’e Moon exploration program, which is named after a Chinese moon goddess.

The Moon program is part of a growing rivalry with the US and others, including Japan and India.

The emerging global power aims to put a person on the moon before 2030, which would make it the second nation after the United States to do so.

America is planning to land astronauts on the Moon again, for the first time in more than 50 years, though NASA pushed the target date back to 2026 earlier this year.

In China’s current mission, the lander is to use a mechanical arm and a drill to gather up to 2 kilograms (4.4 pounds) of surface and underground material for about two days.

An ascender atop the lander will then take the samples in a metal vacuum container back to another module that is orbiting the moon.

The container will be transferred to a re-entry capsule that is due to return to Earth in the deserts of China’s Inner Mongolia region around 25th June.

Missions to the moon’s far side are more difficult because it does not face the Earth, requiring a relay satellite to maintain communications.

The terrain is also more rugged, with fewer flat areas to land.

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