National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA)China’s Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter has photographed China’s Chang’e-6 probe on the lunar surface, revealing that it is located in a crater within the geologically rich Apollo Basin, marked by ancient basalt flows.
NASA’s Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO) captured images of China’s Chang’e-6 sample return spacecraft on the far side of the moon on June 7. Chang’e-6 landed on June 1, and about a week later, LRO passed over the landing site, capturing images of the lander perched on the rim of an eroded crater 55 yards in diameter.
The LRO camera team calculated the coordinates of the landing site to be approximately 42 degrees south, 206 degrees east, at an altitude of approximately minus 3.27 miles (minus 5,256 meters).
The Chang’e 6 landing site is located at the southern end of the Apollo Basin (approximately 306 miles (492 km) in diameter, centered at 36.1°S, 208.3°E). Basaltic lava erupted south of Chaffee S Crater about 3.1 billion years ago and flowed downhill toward the west, encountering a topographical high that appears to be fault-related. Several wrinkled ridges in the region have been deformed and raised above sea level. The landing site is located approximately midway between these prominent ridges. This basaltic flow also overlaps with a slightly older (approximately 3.3 billion years old) flow visible further west, but the younger flow can be distinguished by its higher content of iron oxide and titanium dioxide.
NASA’s Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO) is a vital spacecraft designed to explore the surface of the Moon in detail. Launched on June 18, 2009, the mission’s primary objective is to collect high-resolution images and data to facilitate the selection of future landing sites, assess the Moon’s mineral resources, and analyze the Moon’s radiation environment. Equipped with a powerful suite of instruments, including high-resolution cameras and a laser altimeter, LRO will map the Moon’s topography in great detail, helping scientists understand the Moon’s geology and identify areas rich in resources such as water ice.
LRO has significantly advanced our knowledge of the Moon, contributing discoveries such as confirming the presence of ice in permanently shadowed craters and mapping the temperature of the Moon’s surface. Instruments such as the Lunar Orbiter Laser Altimeter (LOLA) and the Diviner Lunar Radiometer Experiment provide important data on the Moon’s topography and thermal behavior that are crucial for planning future human and robotic missions. By continuously transmitting valuable data back to Earth, LRO supports ongoing research that enhances strategies for returning to the Moon and beyond, and is a cornerstone of lunar exploration technology.
Chang’e-6 is a robotic lunar exploration mission operated by the China National Space Administration, part of China’s lunar exploration program and named after the Chinese moon goddess. Launched from Hainan Island on May 3, 2024, the mission includes a lander and a mobile camera rover that landed on the far side of the Moon on June 1, 2024. The mission is China’s second sample return mission, collecting lunar samples using a robotic scoop and drill. These samples were transferred to an ascent module, which docked with a probe in lunar orbit on June 6, 2024 to bring the samples back to Earth. In addition, the lander and rover conducted various scientific experiments on the Moon.