For the first time, a spacecraft【航天器】 has landed on the side of the moon that is always facing away from Earth – an area that, until now, we had only seen from orbit【軌道】.Nxc答案圈

The China National Space Administration【中國國家航天局】’s Chang’e 4 lander launched on 7 December and has spent the past month reaching the correct orbit to attempt【嘗試】 the historic landing.Nxc答案圈

The CNSA also launched a lunar satellite【衛(wèi)星】 in May to facilitate【幫助】 communication with the lander, as there is never a direct line of sight between the moon’s far side and Earth.Nxc答案圈

That lack of visibility meant that Chang’e 4 had to make its landing almost completely autonomously【自主地】, with no input from mission control. At 10.26 am Beijing time on 3 January, the lander successfully touched down on the surface in an enormous depression called the South Pole-Aitken basin【南極艾特肯盆地】.Nxc答案圈

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This basin is particularly important because it is thought to be a crater【坑】 from a huge impact during the moon’s early years. The impact may have punched through the crust【地殼】 and dug up rocks from deeper underground. If so, the spacecraft will be able to study these rocks to learn about the moon’s past as well as its present.Nxc答案圈

The mission will also help prepare for the moon’s possible future. Researchers are keen to send radio telescopes【射電望遠(yuǎn)鏡】 to the far side of the moon, where radio wave pollution from Earth’s communications and power lines is blocked out.Nxc答案圈

Chang’e 4 is also carrying a “biosphere【生物圈】” with potato seeds, cress【水芹】 and silkworm larvae【蠶幼蟲】to see if they can thrive in a sealed container【密封容器】 on the moon.Nxc答案圈