CHINA has successfully landed its Chang'e-6 lunar probe on the moon's far "dark side" - completing a major step in a world-first mission.
Dramatic footage captured the moment the space lander touched down at the lunar south pole in -183Cto collect lunar samples.
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The landing is a major milestone in the country's ambitious space program which is now hoping to retrieve rock and soil samples from the moon's rarely-explored far side.
If successful, China will become the first nation to do so - and will find itself in a powerful position in the space race where players like the US, Russia, India and Japan are relentlessly competing.
On Sunday, the satellite touched down on the lunar far side after descending from its orbit about 124 miles above the moon's surface to find a landing site.
Huang Wu, an official at the China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation, said: "The [descent to a lower] orbit carried a few risks, so we needed precise control procedures to put [the probe] onto its preset trajectory.
China's space ambitions
"[We had to] rapidly reduce the probe's relative speed to zero within 15 minutes."
While sunlight falls equally on all sides of the moon, the far-away side is still not visible from the earth because it always faces away from our planet - and is therefore called the "dark side".
This is because both the moon and the earth rotate in sync with each other, and one side of the moon is always away, which makes it seemingly invisible.
Chang'e-6 lunar probe will now scour the surface of the moon to gather scientific data that will help fuel China's future space missions.
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The satellite will use a drill to collect samples under the surface while a robotic arm attached to the probe's body will grab specimens from the surface.
Once the lander gathers its samples, it will join the ascender to make its way back to the reentry module that will eventually bring it home to Earth.
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Ge Ping, vice director of China's Lunar Exploration and Space Engineering Centre, told reporters ahead of the launch: "Chang'e-6 will collect samples from the far side of the Moon for the first time."
The three-part journey is intended to gather important data that will allowastronautsto return to the Moon by 2030.
The global rush to the moon - especially to its far side - has picked up pace in the last few years.
In 2023, India made history by becoming the first countryto land on the moon's south pole.
Just days before, Russia had attempted a South Pole touchdown, whichended in a crash landing.
Nasa's Artemis III mission is intended toexplore aregion near the lunar south pole.
The Artemis III mission forms parts of adecade-long programme that is hoped to culminate with a permanent lunar baseby the end of the decade.
Why is this mission so important?
By Sayan Bose, Foreign News Reporter
THE far side of the moon, dubbed the 'dark side', has now become the focal point of numerous space exploration programs.
India, Russia, China and the US have all been engaged in space developments to study the far point of the moon.
It is deemed to be not only a compelling place for future space explorations but also a suitable site for lunar outposts.
Scientists believe it could be the most promising location for water-based ice, which will be key tofuture human habitation on the Moon.
It is also one of the moon's most resource-dense areas.
The permanently shadowed places on the Moon could contain ice and other minerals, which would be vital resources for future explorers.
Scientists reckon there is an abundance of Helium-3 in so-called 'cold traps' littered across the south pole, which can help produce huge amounts of energy here on Earth.
The mountain peaks near the pole - which are illuminated for longer periods - could be used to provide solar energy to an outpost.
With an outpost on the Moon, scientists will be able to analyse water and other volatile samples dating to theformation of the Solar System.
For China, the landing of the Chang'e-6 lunar probe is an important milestone that the country will leverage to expand its space presence on the far side of the moon.
It will use the data collected by the space lander to allow Chinese astronauts to set foot on the moon by 2030.
CHINA'S THREATENING SPACE AMBITIONS
Under dictator Xi's leadership, China has been brewing ambitious plans to become the leader of the global space rush.
The country spent roughly £11.2billion on its space programme in 2023, according to Statista.
While China was late to the first round of the space race,Beijingis investing heavily in becoming the second nation to put humans on the Moon by 2030.
TheChinese-owned Tiangong space stationwas completed in late 2022, and has been permanently manned since then.
China has doubled the number of satellites it has in orbit since 2019, according to the US Defence Intelligence Agency.
Experts also fear that China's monster network of tracking satellites could snoop on Western military operations.
Washington and Beijing currently have the most developed plans for securing separate permanent bases on the Moon, out of any other country in the world.
And fears are China, if it succeeds in making a giant leap ahead of the US, could threaten aggression in space.
A series of non-binding bilateral agreements called the Artemis Accords have been signed between the US and other nations to assure peace in space and on other planets.
However, China has stayed out of the agreement, indicating a potential threat from the communist country.
Nasa chief Bill Nelson, who has been outspoken about his fears surrounding China's activities inspace, said: "My concern would be if China got there first and said, 'This is our territory, you stay out'.
"Obviously you don't want to interfere with each other but don't declare that this whole territory is suddenly yours."
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China'smilitary presence in the South China Seasignals how the country might behave on the lunar surface, Nelson has previously claimed, which would breach the 1967 Outer Space Treaty.
The country is also developinggiant spy balloonsandhypersonic missiles.
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