China spacecraft Chang'e-6 first to collectsamples from far side of the moon - BBC News

China says its lunar probe has successfully taken offfrom the far side of the moon to begin its journey backto Earth carrying the first samples ever collected from the region.

On Sunday, the robot landed in a giant crater close tothe moon's south pole in a world-first feat celebratedby the international science community.

China is the only country to have landed on the far sideof the moon, having also done so before in 2019.

China aims to be the first country to bring back rockand soil samples from the far side of the moon, whichscientists say could be very different from rockformations on the near side.