The returner of the Chang'e 6 lunar probe is opened during a ceremony at the China Academy of Space Technology under the China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation in Beijing, June 26, 2024. The returner of the Chang'e 6 lunar probe was opened at a ceremony in Beijing on Wednesday afternoon. [Photo/Xinhua]

The Chang'e 6 robotic mission, marking the world's first attempt to return samples from the far side of the moon, was launched on May 3 by a Long March 5 heavy-lift carrier rocket from the Wenchang Space Launch Center in Hainan province.

The spacecraft, weighing 8.35 tons, comprised four components: an orbiter, a lander, an ascender, and the reentry capsule.

Following a series of complex maneuvers, the lander successfully touched down at the South Pole-Aitken Basin, one of the largest-known impact craters in the solar system, on June 2.