Chang’e-4 Mission

The un-crewed Chang’e-4 probe of China landed in the South Pole of the Moon.

  • Previous Moon missions have landed on the Earth-facing side, but this is the first time any craft has landed successfully on the unexplored and rugged far side.
  • It is carrying instruments to analyse the unexplored region’s geology, as well to conduct biological experiments.
  • The far side is not visible from the Earth due to “tidal locking”.

Tidal Locking

It is the name given to the situation when an object’s orbital period matches its rotational period. A great example of this is our own Moon. The moon takes 28 days to go around the Earth and 28 days to rotate once around its axis. This results in the same face of the Moon always facing the Earth.

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