China launches mission to retrieve samples from far side of the moon; all you need to know

China has sent a special spacecraft on a big mission to the far side of the moon. It's a historic journey because no other country has tried something like this before. The spacecraft, called Chang'e-6, was carried by China's biggest rocket, the Long March-5. It took off from Wenchang Space Launch Center in southern China. Chang'e-6 weighs more than 8 metric tons, which is quite heavy.

Chang'e-6 has a job to do once it reaches the moon's far side. It's supposed to land in a place called the South Pole-Aitken Basin. This area always faces away from Earth. Then, it will collect rocks and soil from there.

This launch is a big deal for China's space programme. It's amazing how quickly China has achieved so much in space exploration. Pierre-Yves Meslin, a researcher from France, is impressed by China's progress.

Chang'e-6 is not alone on this trip. There are also scientific instruments from France, Italy, Pakistan, and the European Space Agency onboard. But surprisingly, no American instruments are part of this mission. The US and China can't work together in space because of US laws.

Chang'e-6 will take about four to five days to reach the moon. It will land there in early June. Then, it will spend two days collecting samples before coming back to Earth. It's expected to land in Inner Mongolia.

The samples Chang'e-6 brings back will help scientists learn more about the moon's history. Chinese scientists are excited about studying rocks from a part of the moon that's much older than what other countries have explored.

This mission is part of China's plan to build a research station on the moon. They're working with Russia on this big project. Building a base on the moon will help countries like China explore space further.