Technical design and implementation of Chang’e-6 robotic sample return mission on the far side of the moon

Abstract

<p indent="0mm">The Chang’e-6 mission of the fourth phase of the lunar exploration program is China’s first mission to sample and return from the far side of the Moon. The objective of the mission was to land on the selected area of the far side of the Moon, collect lunar samples, and return these samples to Earth safely through the processes of lunar lift-off, lunar orbit rendezvous and docking, sample transfer, Moon-to-Earth transfer, and reentry. This paper describes the mission’s technical features, brief introduction, and development process, summarizes the breakthroughs and innovation of the key technologies involved, and presents the flight results. The on-orbit results show that all functions and specifications satisfy the mission requirements, the spacecraft is in good condition in flight, and the design of the scheme is validated.