Smithsonian Institution in the US estimates time of world’s first attempt to soft-land on the moon’s lesser-known side
China’s lunar lander and rover spacecraft Chang’e 4 could make humankind’s first attempt to soft-land on the dark side of the moon between Tuesday and Thursday, after entering a planned orbit on Sunday morning.
China’s space agency said its control centre in Beijing would choose a suitable time to attempt the landing, but the Smithsonian Institution, the American museums and research centres group, reported that the craft was expected to land on Von Kármán crater landing point at some point between January 1 and 3.
The moon lander was launched at Xichang Satellite Launch Centre in southern China on December 8 by Long March 3B rocket and entered lunar orbit four days later.
The far side of the moon – also known as the dark side because it faces away from Earth – remains comparatively unknown, with a different composition from sites on the near side where previous missions have landed.
