After almost two months of anticipation, Chang'e-6 has finally returned home! On the afternoon of June 25, the return capsule of Chang'e-6 landed successfully at the predetermined position, and the trip was a complete success. From its launch on the 3rd of last month to its return today, in the past 50 days, Chang'e-6 has traveled more than 760,000 kilometers, making a significant mark in the history of China's aerospace. For example, Chang'e-6 was the world's first probe to land on the far side of the moon and complete lunar soil sampling, which even the global space hegemon the United States and the former space giant Soviet Union have never done.
It is precisely because of this that "Chang'e-6" has attracted global attention from the moment it was launched. The fact that the United States and the Soviet Union did not collect lunar soil on the far side of the moon is enough to show that this matter is not simple and requires high technical requirements, and the "Chang'e-6" has lived up to expectations and successfully completed the task in one go. Some people may ask, is the lunar soil collected on the far side of the moon different from the lunar soil collected on the front side of the moon, and is not all the soil on the moon? If you say in general terms, the lunar soil collected from the front and back of the moon is indeed lunar soil, which is equivalent to the soil of the earth, no matter where you dig a spade soil on the earth, it is the soil of the earth, but if you elaborate, the lunar soil collected from the front and back of the moon, because the regions are different, there must be differences in soil composition.
Before Chang'e-6, the United States and China had collected lunar soil from the moon, but the previous lunar soil was collected on the front side of the moon, and these lunar soils are only of reference significance for the study of the topography and environment of the front side of the moon. It is obviously not scientific to use the lunar soil collected from the front side of the moon as a basis to study the structure of the far side of the moon, which requires the lunar soil on the far side of the moon, and the lunar soil collected by Chang'e-6 this time provides a material basis for human beings to study the structure of the far side of the moon, and also fills a big gap. The study of the moon is not only about deepening mankind's understanding of the planet, but also about the manned landing of humans on the moon. The first step in a manned landing on the moon is to have a full understanding of the moon, whether it is on the front or the back.
Through Chang'e-6, China has obtained lunar soil on the far side of the moon, which means that China's research on the moon will be more comprehensive, which is of extraordinary significance for China's next manned landing on the moon. The United States is naturally well aware of this, so as early as not long after the "Chang'e-6" was launched, some people from NASA sent a message to China, asking China to share the lunar soil on the far side of the moon collected by the "Chang'e-6" spacecraft. It can be seen that NASA is very greedy for the lunar soil collected by Chang'e-6, after all, if it can get the lunar soil collected by Chang'e-6, it will be of great help to the "Artemis" manned lunar landing program that the United States is currently engaged in.
But NASA must be clear that this request for the sharing of lunar soil is asking China to do something, not ordering China to do something. To ask for someone, you must have an attitude of asking for someone, first of all, you must put away your arrogant and unreasonable face; Second, we must abolish the "Wolf Clause," which is a stumbling block to Sino-US space cooperation, and if it is not removed, it will be difficult for China and the United States to resume space cooperation.