The Chinese National Space Agency is attempting something no one else has done before : take in rock music from the far side of the Moon and bringing them back to Earth . The ambitiousChang’e 6mission is now orbiting the Moon onwards of landing place and it is fill with scientific payload beyond the sample retrieval apparatus . But one particular item had not been announced in procession and was only spotted in a photograph . There ’s a wanderer seize to the lander .

The only other commission to soft - nation on the far side has beenChang’e 4and it also carried a scouter , Yutu-2.SpaceNews’Andrew Jones report the presence of the mini rover in photos of the lander before launch . Once you see it , it is clean that it is not really inconspicuous . Still , the intent of the mini roamer remains unsettled .

A few Clarence Day after launch , apostfrom the Shanghai Institute of Ceramics ( SIC ) , which is under the Chinese Academy of Sciences , key out more details about the rover , which is think of to hold a modest infrared mass spectrometer . This can be used to study the authorship of lunar rock music as well as the presence of body of water .

Whether this will be used to nail the Chang’e 6 retrieval commission or whether it has its own scientific objectives stay on to be get word . It is also unclear whether it will jump off off or if there is a different way for the picayune vehicle to be deploy , such as a incline . Hopefully , we will know once Chang’e 6 really lands on the Moon . The targeted land zone is the Apollo crater within the South Pole - Aitken Basin .

This is a fascinating geographical zone that includes amassive structureburied underneath the basin , which might be a part of the enormous space rock ‘n’ roll that hit the Moon and created the washbowl 4 billion eld ago . The mission team trust to find some dowry of the lunar mantelpiece that were give out during that impact .

Since the far side of the Moon is entering its 14 - day nighttime , the mission will not bring right away . Apollo will see a sundown on Monday , May 13 , and while Chang’e 6 will only be on the surface for a little period , it ’s good to have full sunlight on it . Dawn at the volcanic crater will be on May 25 , so the landing place is expected to take plaza subsequently this month or in early June .

[ H / T : Space News ]