The probe landed in northern China on Tuesday.
ADVERTISEMENTA Chinese lunar probe has returned to Earth with the world's first samples from the Moon's far side.
The Chang'e 6 probe returned with rock and soil samples on Tuesday and landed in the Inner Mongolian region in northern China.
Chinese scientists expect the returned samples to include 2.5 million-year-old volcanic rock and other material.
They hope this could answer questions about geographic differences on the Moon's two sides.
While past US and Soviet missions have collected samples from the Moon's near side, the Chinese mission was the first that took samples from the far side.
The near side is what is seen from Earth, while the far side faces outer space.
The far side is also known to have mountains and impact craters, contrasting with the relatively flat expanses visible on the near side.
'Fundamental questions'
The lunar probe left Earth on May 3, and its journey lasted 53 days. It has drilled into the core and scooped rocks from the surface.
The samples “are expected to answer one of the most fundamental scientific questions in lunar science research: what geologic activity is responsible for the differences between the two sides?” said Zongyu Yue, a geologist at the Chinese Academy of Sciences, in a statement issued in the Innovation Monday, a journal published in partnership with the academy.
China in recent years has launched multiple successful missions to the Moon, collecting samples from the Moon’s near side with the Chang’e 5 probe previously.
They are also hoping that the probe will return with material that bears traces of meteorite strikes from the Moon’s past.
