China's space supremacy

Moony ambitions: This handout photo taken on June 3 shows the ascender and lander captured by China’s Chang’e-6 lunar probe after it landed on the moon. — CNSA/AFP

CHINA’s Chang’e 6 spacecraft landed on the far side of the moon on June 2 to collect samples, the second following the Chang’e 5, which did so from the moon’s near side in 2020.

China is the only country to have landed on the far side of the moon, having also done so before in 2019. The far side, which faces away from the Earth, is seen as tricky and challenging due to its terrains.