China all set to launch historical mission to dark side of moon tomorrow

The moon is seen during a lunar eclipse over Cairo, Egypt July 27, 2018.
The moon is seen during a lunar eclipse over Cairo, Egypt July 27, 2018. REUTERS/Amr Abdallah Dalsh

Giving new dimensions to the ongoing space race between world powers, China is all set to launch a new mission to the far side of the moon, better known as the natural satellite's dark side which has been never explored by humans.

The Chang'e-4 spacecraft will be launched from the Xichang Satellite Launch Center, Sichuan on Saturday, December 8, 2018.

The lunar mission module will carry a rover and a lander, and it is scheduled to touch down the dark side of the moon soon. It should also be noted that this is for the first time that a human mission is trying to touch down the surface of the moon's far side, making this probe a milestone mission in the space history.

The main mission of the new probe is to study the crater-markers in the far side of the moon. The upcoming mission is also expected to conduct the world's first ever radio astronomy experiments on the lunar surface. During the upcoming mission, the Chinese Space Agency will also study the growth of seeds on the moon's low gravity surface.

The Chang'e-4 mission is also expected to prepare the dark side of the moon for future human moon missions. It has been previously revealed that one of the ultimate aims of China in space race is to build a full-fledged human colony on the lunar surface.

Even though the Chinese National Space Agency has not revealed the exact landing site of the spacecraft, many experts have suggested that the rover is most likely to land in Van Karman, a crater located in the Southern hemisphere of the moon.

Earlier, several conspiracy theorists have alleged that advanced aliens from deep space are living on the dark side of the moon. These conspiracy theorists believe that humans have never tried to reach the far side of the moon just because aliens have warned them. As the Chinese National Space Agency has decided to carry out this crucial mission, several secrets regarding moon's dark side will be unveiled in the coming days.

This article was first published on December 7, 2018
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