Secret Reasons For China's Effort To Reach The Far Side Of The Moon

China has launched its latest rocket to the unexplored far side of the Moon where no spacecraft has ever landed before on Sunday. Though the rocket does not break any records regarding the size of the rover or feature any other distinctive characteristics, this event will go in history as it represents a significant achievement for China, as this is the very first time that a nation can reach to the dark side of the Moon.

The self-driving Chang’e-4 carried a lander and a rover which were launched at 2.23 AM on Saturday. To land on the planned position, the Chang’e-4 has to finish a 27-day journey. The landing position of the Chang’e-4 is planned to be an impact crater on the Moon, namely Von Kármán.

If the Chang’e-4 completes its mission, China will be the first nation to reach the dark side of the Moon in the world. Regarding this side of the Moon, the ‘dark’ does not mean there is no light on this side. It comes from the fact that the Moon is tidally locked to the Earth, and the Moon with its same side takes precisely 28 days to orbit the Earth.

Because the Moon does not change its side facing the Earth, the dark side or the far side of the Moon remains relatively mysterious. There are many problems to land on this dark side of the Moon such as blocked radio signals to and from Earth in the entire body of the Moon. Therefore, to transmit the information from the Moon the scientists in the Earth, the Chang’e-4 will use a relay orbiter, namely Queqiao that was launched earlier in May in China, to connect with the Earth.  Currently, the Chang’e-4 has been in the middle of the distance between Earth and Moon, which means that it has completed half of its mission.

In addition to the usual equipment and sensors, the Chang’e-4 is also taking mustard and potato seeds, which are such surprising ‘luggage.’ The purpose of this action is to research whether life could exist on this side of the moon or not by planting these seeds in a protective container.

The Chang'e-4

A tube will be used to transfer natural light to the container to find out whether and how the Moon's natural light can help plants grow. It is critical to building farms for the habitation on the Moon. Should the potatoes be able to develop in the condition of natural light, the generation and use of electronic lamps for heating on these seeds will be unnecessary.