Here’s a little background on the far side of the moon: the Moon has a side that it never shows Earth. Interestingly, some refer to this as the “dark side of the Moon”, though this not entirely correct. Just like the Earth, the Moon rotates around its axis, which means that it eventually has all of its sides facing towards the Sun. The reason some may call it this is because from our perspective on Earth, we only see one side. As a result, the term “dark side” comes from the fact that we never see it. This is because the time it takes for the moon to do one full rotation is equal to the amount of time it takes the moon to do one full orbit around the Earth (about 29.5 days).
Now, let’s get to this far side. In the history of space travel, no one has ever landed on this side. We have only flown by this face or crashed into it (whoops!). On January 3rd, 2019, China successfully landed the Chang’e 4 rover on this mysterious side, the first ever to do so! Name sounds familiar? Check out this article written by The Daily China to find out where the name of this spacecraft came from! Chinese Mythology: The Story of Chang’e.
A Picture of the Rover Taken From the Lander
Now back to the rover! Chang’e 4’s mission was to collect data from this far side. It landed around the Moon’s South Pole in a giant crater. Here, the mineral composition is said to greatly differ from the rest of the Moon’s surface and may lead to more insight about the early history of the Moon (and by extension, the origin of Earth and our solar system). But wait, there’s more! Remember how I said before that no one has landed on this side before? Well, there’s a reason for that. It’s mostly because the signals sent out from Earth are being blocked due to them having to travel through the entire body of the Moon. As a result, China launched the Queqiao satellite in May 2018, which orbits the Moon and, when in the correct position, can receive signals from the Earth when it is closest to us, and then can send the signals back to the Chang’e 4 rover when it is closer to the far side. Thus allowing us to communicate very slowly with the rover. Furthermore, the rover also brought along cotton seeds in special containers, which makes this the first biological experiment of any kind on the surface of the Moon!
Chang’e 4 Lander
All in all, this is a very exciting step for China, research, and the future of space travel. Stay posted on more articles coming out over the course of the next few months as China will be sending out the Chang’e 5 in late 2019 for sample returns from the Chang’e 4. For now, here’s some more information about the rover and a really good overview video by the science YouTube channel Seeker.
i cant believe china is doing some revolutionary things on the moon and i cant help but feel interested in the findings and the future of the Chinese space program.
Stephen Liang
This story has been everywhere on the news recently. I have already watched the video attached to this page before. China’s achievements and fast progress is not surprising because of the amount of money spend on China’s space program. America spends the most money on their space program, which explains its success in the field. Thanks for writing.
Austin Kweit
i cant believe china is doing some revolutionary things on the moon and i cant help but feel interested in the findings and the future of the Chinese space program.
Leanne Lu
Great article! It’s amazing how advanced China’s space program must be to accomplish this feat. I’ve heard of the story of Chang’e before and it’s interesting how the rover was named after it. It’s also amazing how this is the first biological experiment on the Moon. I’m excited to see what discoveries this will bring.
Bill Liu
This is another amazing science article! This satellite has also planted fruit fly eggs and potato seeds to perform biological processes. I don’t know whether the experiments will succeed or fail, but I’m sure the moon will be able to support life! The same thing should be done to other planets. China is always on the move to the futurity of research!
Catherine L
This was an amazing accomplishment! I’ve heard this story on the news, and am surprised at how fast China is developing and catching up to America. I am sure they will continue to progress in space missions. Thank you for sharing this article!
This is such an interesting article. It’s nice to know that China is improving its technology and research in the science fields immensely. I heard about this satellite recently. Hopefully, they will be able to discover new things. I can’t wait to see where technology and innovations take China in the future.
William Chen
What an interesting article. Even though I’ve heard about it, I didn’t look it up. Now that I have read it, I think it’s really interesting that they are improving their technology and research. I hope we’ll be able to use this information later too! Keep it up!
Blake Mayourian
Wow, this is a very intriguing article! It is crazy how nobody has ever landed on the dark side of the moon. This act that China’s shows their improvement and prosperity in the technology and science fields. Hopefully they discover many mysterious and interesting things. This was great to read, thank you for sharing.
Jason Zheng
What an interesting article. Even though I heard about it, I did not look it up. It’s good that they are improving their technology. I hope they land successfully. Thank You.
Kyle Chan
Wow! This article really sparked my interest. Its so cool that China has goals to outreach into space and explore the rest of the world. I hope that the technology they create will be groundbreaking and the US also can share this technology. Maybe this will be useful to see aliens later! Keep it up!!!
Great article Wesley! It’s fascinating that China is investing in researching and landing on the dark side of the moon. China’s achievements in aerospace and technology will undoubtedly be essential in future explorations into deep space. I’m curious to see the outcome of the biological experiments. Overall, this was an interesting piece and I can’t wait to learn more about this program!
Daniel yeh
This is a great article. It was very informative about this CHANG’E 4 rover. It talks about this difficulties of communication. Also about the lunar cycle. And the testing with cotton seeds on the surface.
Daniel yeh
This is a great article. It was very informative about this CHANG’E 4 rover. It talks about this difficulties of communication. Also about the lunar cycle. And the testing with cotton seeds on the surface.
william S Yeh
This was very informative on the continued exploration of space. I never knew that no one has ever sent a rover to successfully land on the far side of the moon. Hopefully the cotton seed experiment will work because we might be able to one day colonize the moon and that would be amazing. I hope we will be able to stay in touch with the rover and not lose connection. It would be even better if we were to be able to speed it up so we can do more..
Joshua Cheuk
Cool article Wesley! It’s cool that China is taking a big step in space exploration. They’ve landed on the dark side of the moon. A place where no one has intentionally been to. I can’t wait to see the research from the dark side of the moon.
Kelly Wang
I remember learning about the moon’s revolution in earth science! However, I didn’t remember about it until I read this article. It’s so interesting how the moon’s rotation and revolution is the same, resulting in the moon only showing one face to the inhabitants of earth. I think it’s very exciting that China is launching a lunar exploration. I hope Chang’e’s mission is a success!
Jason Suh
Great article Wesley! I loved this article on the space rover from China that landed on the moon! I did’t know that one side of the moon never faces us! I think it is so interesting that the mineral composition is different in the crater. Hopefully, from this discovery we can learn more about the history of not only Earth, but our entire solar system. Thanks for sharing!
Jeff Bao
Fascinating article Wesley! I read a similar article on the New York Times and it talked about how it was going to be big for the Space travel. It’s really interesting to know how the moon’s rotation equals the earth’s revolution. I didn’t remember learning this since Earth Science. It’s also cool to know how China was the first country to travel to the other side of the moon. I hope as time passes more progress will be made toward space exploration.
Herin Ahn
I think it’s interesting that they named the spacecraft 嫦娥. Also, it’s amazing how advanced China’s space program must be to land on the different side of the moon! Many other countries also have attempted this but did not succeed. Nice to know that China’s improving its technology in the cosmology fields a lot.
Juliann L
Great article! I didn’t know that there was a side of the moon that the Earth never sees. I thought that since the moon rotates, all of its sides will eventually face the Earth. It’s great that China was able to land a rover on this side of the moon. That way, we will be able to discover a lot of new information about the moon that we previously didn’t know. It’s great that so much will be learned about space.
Brian Chu
Wow, this article was filled with information and statistics that were really interesting. I don´t know much about China´s explorations into space, and loved the background information about the moon in relation to earth. I also didn´t know that China was the first to land a rover on a part of the moon that had previously never been touched before. It seems like you know a lot about space exploration, and I loved reading this informational article. Thanks again for writing this!
Joshua Dong
Wow! That’s really cool that China is the first country to land on that side of the moon. I feel like America would be able to create this type of technology too. Hopefully, China will share the information they gathered with us so everybody can learn more. I like these articles like this because they are about random stuff but the topic they talk about is very interesting. Hopefully, China will keep on making advancements in space exploration. Keep up the good work!
douglas chen
Wow! It’s cool that China is pioneering space technology and is the first to land on the moon. I feel like America would be able to create this type of technology too. Hopefully, China will share the information they gathered with us so everybody can learn more. I enjoy these random but interesting articles. Hopefully the world will keep making advancements in space technology . Keep up the good work!
Ethan Wang
I saw this on CNN. It’s amazing that China can land on the dark side of the moon. Who knows what can found in the darkness. Their technology has progressed so much in the last years. This is amazing.
ethan zhu
This article was really interesting considering the fact that I love space related things! I find it really cool that China was the first country on that side of the moon. There could so many things that are undiscovered on that side! These types of articles are the best.
Wesley Wang
Cool article! It seems like this will be a monumental accomplish in space travel, not only for China, but for the world. It’s insane how quickly technology is progressing. A biological experiment on the moon? Wow! I’m excited to see what is found on the far side of the moon. Also, thanks for the background about the moon. I didn’t know any of that! Thanks for sharing.
Very cool concept for space travel to slowly receive data from a satellite orbiting the moon. One of my questions is what is the main differences between the dark side of the moon compared to the side we usually see in our everyday lives. I hope we can implement these technologies in the future of space travel. Here is also what I have learned and researched. The spacecraft was named after Chang’e, the goddess of the Moon in Chinese mythology, and is a follow-up to the Chang’e 1 and Chang’e 2 lunar orbiters. The rover was named Yutu (Chinese: 玉兔; literally: “Jade Rabbit”) following an online poll, after the mythological rabbit that lives on the Moon as a pet of the Moon goddess. Chang’e 3 achieved lunar orbit on 6 December 2013 and landed on 14 December 2013,[10] becoming the first spacecraft to soft-land on the Moon since the Soviet Union’s Luna 24 in 1976.[11] On 28 December 2015, Chang’e 3 discovered a new type of basaltic rock, rich in ilmenite, a black mineral. It was very interesting to learn that they discovered a new type of rock from the dark side of the moon.
Michael P.
Wow Wesley, great article! This article reminds me of an article I wrote last year called China: Alien Hunter where I detailed China’s efforts to make first contact. China is clearly quite innovative with respect to space technology and China is clearly winning the modern-day space race. It may not be long before there is a Chinese space station or even a Chinese shuttle program. I found it so interesting that the Chinese space agency had to orbit a satellite around the moon in order to maintain contact with Chang’e 4. It will be interesting to see what comes of those cotton seeds! Great Work!
Lucy Cao
Thanks for sharing this article! This is very interesting news and it is great to see that China is trying to do some pioneering things in space. The mission must have taken a long time to plan out. It must have also been really expensive since they had to send a satellite to the moon first so that it could pick up signals from the rover. I hope that they discover some interesting things on the dark side of the moon.
I like how you were able to incorporate science and your own opinion into this article. I think that is is so amazing how China is able to complete something that has never been done before! I think that it is very important to continue to explore various parts of the world. China does an amazing job of being persistent in their research and technology, causing it to be one of the most technologically advanced countries in the world.
Brandon Wong
Amazing article! Before I read this article, I had never knew that the Chinese Government sent a man to the dark side of the moon. Even though I never knew this, I do know that they were not the first who tried to land on the moon. I also knew that the moon’s Revolution rate and Rotation rate are equal. As a result, that there is one side we never see. Also, the pictures have great quality! Good Job!
I hadn’t thought of traveling to the other side of the moon. That’s really interesting that the Chinese are making the initiative to go to where no one’s really discovered before. I like how you described the cycle of the moon and how we are never able to see its back, complete with visuals. Thanks for sharing this article! I can’t wait to hear more information about it!
Michael Lin
This is such an interesting article. It’s nice to know that China is improving its technology and research in the science fields immensely. I heard about this satellite recently. Hopefully, they will be able to discover new things. I can’t wait to see where technology and innovations take China in the future.
Austin Kweit
it’s amazing how advanced China’s space program must be to land on the different side of the moon! Many other countries also have attempted this but did not succeed. Nice to know that China’s improving its technology in the cosmology fields a lot.
Hitomi Honda
This is a very informational article about space exploration and the steps China is taking to improve her technology and research in the science fields. China’s space program must be quite advanced to land on the different side of the moon! I learned a lot from this article, thanks for sharing!
Emanuel Florez
This is a very interesting article. I never knew that China landed a rover on the mysterious side of the moon. That is truly revolutionary. I don’t think anyone else has done that and maybe no one else will be able to. I really enjoyed this article.
Austin kweit
It seems like this will be a monumental accomplish in space travel, not only for China, but for the world. It’s insane how quickly technology is progressing. A biological experiment on the moon? Wow! I’m excited to see what is found on the far side of the moon. Also, thanks for the background about the moon. I didn’t know any of that! Thanks for sharing.
Harrison Berger
This is such a great article! I don’t know whether the experiments will succeed or fail, but I would like to know which happens. This seems like such a great accomplishment for China. Its crazy how advanced there space station is. Overall great article! Thanks for sharing!
Eric Ma
This video was so amazing and touching. I especially loved the part with you and your sister. You guys looked so cute and I’m sure you miss her a lot. Your experience of going to China looks such fun and hopefully, I can visit there one day. Thank you for putting together this video!!
Joanne Li
Wow, this is such a cool article! I’ve never thought about how we would collect information from the “dark side” of the Moon – I’d always assumed that we’d be able to explore it just as well as the near side. Apparently not! It’s super interesting how the Queqiao satellite was launched to facilitate communication between Chang’e and Earth. I also loved the detail about the cotton seed experiment. I wonder how it’ll go!
Ashley
Great article! There seems to be so much hope for the Chinese space program. It’s cool to know how advanced the technology is to land on the other side of the moon. I am excited to see new and different experiments that the future will hold. Thanks for sharing!
i cant believe china is doing some revolutionary things on the moon and i cant help but feel interested in the findings and the future of the Chinese space program.
This story has been everywhere on the news recently. I have already watched the video attached to this page before. China’s achievements and fast progress is not surprising because of the amount of money spend on China’s space program. America spends the most money on their space program, which explains its success in the field. Thanks for writing.
i cant believe china is doing some revolutionary things on the moon and i cant help but feel interested in the findings and the future of the Chinese space program.
Great article! It’s amazing how advanced China’s space program must be to accomplish this feat. I’ve heard of the story of Chang’e before and it’s interesting how the rover was named after it. It’s also amazing how this is the first biological experiment on the Moon. I’m excited to see what discoveries this will bring.
This is another amazing science article! This satellite has also planted fruit fly eggs and potato seeds to perform biological processes. I don’t know whether the experiments will succeed or fail, but I’m sure the moon will be able to support life! The same thing should be done to other planets. China is always on the move to the futurity of research!
This was an amazing accomplishment! I’ve heard this story on the news, and am surprised at how fast China is developing and catching up to America. I am sure they will continue to progress in space missions. Thank you for sharing this article!
This is such an interesting article. It’s nice to know that China is improving its technology and research in the science fields immensely. I heard about this satellite recently. Hopefully, they will be able to discover new things. I can’t wait to see where technology and innovations take China in the future.
What an interesting article. Even though I’ve heard about it, I didn’t look it up. Now that I have read it, I think it’s really interesting that they are improving their technology and research. I hope we’ll be able to use this information later too! Keep it up!
Wow, this is a very intriguing article! It is crazy how nobody has ever landed on the dark side of the moon. This act that China’s shows their improvement and prosperity in the technology and science fields. Hopefully they discover many mysterious and interesting things. This was great to read, thank you for sharing.
What an interesting article. Even though I heard about it, I did not look it up. It’s good that they are improving their technology. I hope they land successfully. Thank You.
Wow! This article really sparked my interest. Its so cool that China has goals to outreach into space and explore the rest of the world. I hope that the technology they create will be groundbreaking and the US also can share this technology. Maybe this will be useful to see aliens later! Keep it up!!!
Great article Wesley! It’s fascinating that China is investing in researching and landing on the dark side of the moon. China’s achievements in aerospace and technology will undoubtedly be essential in future explorations into deep space. I’m curious to see the outcome of the biological experiments. Overall, this was an interesting piece and I can’t wait to learn more about this program!
This is a great article. It was very informative about this CHANG’E 4 rover. It talks about this difficulties of communication. Also about the lunar cycle. And the testing with cotton seeds on the surface.
This is a great article. It was very informative about this CHANG’E 4 rover. It talks about this difficulties of communication. Also about the lunar cycle. And the testing with cotton seeds on the surface.
This was very informative on the continued exploration of space. I never knew that no one has ever sent a rover to successfully land on the far side of the moon. Hopefully the cotton seed experiment will work because we might be able to one day colonize the moon and that would be amazing. I hope we will be able to stay in touch with the rover and not lose connection. It would be even better if we were to be able to speed it up so we can do more..
Cool article Wesley! It’s cool that China is taking a big step in space exploration. They’ve landed on the dark side of the moon. A place where no one has intentionally been to. I can’t wait to see the research from the dark side of the moon.
I remember learning about the moon’s revolution in earth science! However, I didn’t remember about it until I read this article. It’s so interesting how the moon’s rotation and revolution is the same, resulting in the moon only showing one face to the inhabitants of earth. I think it’s very exciting that China is launching a lunar exploration. I hope Chang’e’s mission is a success!
Great article Wesley! I loved this article on the space rover from China that landed on the moon! I did’t know that one side of the moon never faces us! I think it is so interesting that the mineral composition is different in the crater. Hopefully, from this discovery we can learn more about the history of not only Earth, but our entire solar system. Thanks for sharing!
Fascinating article Wesley! I read a similar article on the New York Times and it talked about how it was going to be big for the Space travel. It’s really interesting to know how the moon’s rotation equals the earth’s revolution. I didn’t remember learning this since Earth Science. It’s also cool to know how China was the first country to travel to the other side of the moon. I hope as time passes more progress will be made toward space exploration.
I think it’s interesting that they named the spacecraft 嫦娥. Also, it’s amazing how advanced China’s space program must be to land on the different side of the moon! Many other countries also have attempted this but did not succeed. Nice to know that China’s improving its technology in the cosmology fields a lot.
Great article! I didn’t know that there was a side of the moon that the Earth never sees. I thought that since the moon rotates, all of its sides will eventually face the Earth. It’s great that China was able to land a rover on this side of the moon. That way, we will be able to discover a lot of new information about the moon that we previously didn’t know. It’s great that so much will be learned about space.
Wow, this article was filled with information and statistics that were really interesting. I don´t know much about China´s explorations into space, and loved the background information about the moon in relation to earth. I also didn´t know that China was the first to land a rover on a part of the moon that had previously never been touched before. It seems like you know a lot about space exploration, and I loved reading this informational article. Thanks again for writing this!
Wow! That’s really cool that China is the first country to land on that side of the moon. I feel like America would be able to create this type of technology too. Hopefully, China will share the information they gathered with us so everybody can learn more. I like these articles like this because they are about random stuff but the topic they talk about is very interesting. Hopefully, China will keep on making advancements in space exploration. Keep up the good work!
Wow! It’s cool that China is pioneering space technology and is the first to land on the moon. I feel like America would be able to create this type of technology too. Hopefully, China will share the information they gathered with us so everybody can learn more. I enjoy these random but interesting articles. Hopefully the world will keep making advancements in space technology . Keep up the good work!
I saw this on CNN. It’s amazing that China can land on the dark side of the moon. Who knows what can found in the darkness. Their technology has progressed so much in the last years. This is amazing.
This article was really interesting considering the fact that I love space related things! I find it really cool that China was the first country on that side of the moon. There could so many things that are undiscovered on that side! These types of articles are the best.
Cool article! It seems like this will be a monumental accomplish in space travel, not only for China, but for the world. It’s insane how quickly technology is progressing. A biological experiment on the moon? Wow! I’m excited to see what is found on the far side of the moon. Also, thanks for the background about the moon. I didn’t know any of that! Thanks for sharing.
Very cool concept for space travel to slowly receive data from a satellite orbiting the moon. One of my questions is what is the main differences between the dark side of the moon compared to the side we usually see in our everyday lives. I hope we can implement these technologies in the future of space travel. Here is also what I have learned and researched. The spacecraft was named after Chang’e, the goddess of the Moon in Chinese mythology, and is a follow-up to the Chang’e 1 and Chang’e 2 lunar orbiters. The rover was named Yutu (Chinese: 玉兔; literally: “Jade Rabbit”) following an online poll, after the mythological rabbit that lives on the Moon as a pet of the Moon goddess. Chang’e 3 achieved lunar orbit on 6 December 2013 and landed on 14 December 2013,[10] becoming the first spacecraft to soft-land on the Moon since the Soviet Union’s Luna 24 in 1976.[11] On 28 December 2015, Chang’e 3 discovered a new type of basaltic rock, rich in ilmenite, a black mineral. It was very interesting to learn that they discovered a new type of rock from the dark side of the moon.
Wow Wesley, great article! This article reminds me of an article I wrote last year called China: Alien Hunter where I detailed China’s efforts to make first contact. China is clearly quite innovative with respect to space technology and China is clearly winning the modern-day space race. It may not be long before there is a Chinese space station or even a Chinese shuttle program. I found it so interesting that the Chinese space agency had to orbit a satellite around the moon in order to maintain contact with Chang’e 4. It will be interesting to see what comes of those cotton seeds! Great Work!
Thanks for sharing this article! This is very interesting news and it is great to see that China is trying to do some pioneering things in space. The mission must have taken a long time to plan out. It must have also been really expensive since they had to send a satellite to the moon first so that it could pick up signals from the rover. I hope that they discover some interesting things on the dark side of the moon.
I like how you were able to incorporate science and your own opinion into this article. I think that is is so amazing how China is able to complete something that has never been done before! I think that it is very important to continue to explore various parts of the world. China does an amazing job of being persistent in their research and technology, causing it to be one of the most technologically advanced countries in the world.
Amazing article! Before I read this article, I had never knew that the Chinese Government sent a man to the dark side of the moon. Even though I never knew this, I do know that they were not the first who tried to land on the moon. I also knew that the moon’s Revolution rate and Rotation rate are equal. As a result, that there is one side we never see. Also, the pictures have great quality! Good Job!
I hadn’t thought of traveling to the other side of the moon. That’s really interesting that the Chinese are making the initiative to go to where no one’s really discovered before. I like how you described the cycle of the moon and how we are never able to see its back, complete with visuals. Thanks for sharing this article! I can’t wait to hear more information about it!
This is such an interesting article. It’s nice to know that China is improving its technology and research in the science fields immensely. I heard about this satellite recently. Hopefully, they will be able to discover new things. I can’t wait to see where technology and innovations take China in the future.
it’s amazing how advanced China’s space program must be to land on the different side of the moon! Many other countries also have attempted this but did not succeed. Nice to know that China’s improving its technology in the cosmology fields a lot.
This is a very informational article about space exploration and the steps China is taking to improve her technology and research in the science fields. China’s space program must be quite advanced to land on the different side of the moon! I learned a lot from this article, thanks for sharing!
This is a very interesting article. I never knew that China landed a rover on the mysterious side of the moon. That is truly revolutionary. I don’t think anyone else has done that and maybe no one else will be able to. I really enjoyed this article.
It seems like this will be a monumental accomplish in space travel, not only for China, but for the world. It’s insane how quickly technology is progressing. A biological experiment on the moon? Wow! I’m excited to see what is found on the far side of the moon. Also, thanks for the background about the moon. I didn’t know any of that! Thanks for sharing.
This is such a great article! I don’t know whether the experiments will succeed or fail, but I would like to know which happens. This seems like such a great accomplishment for China. Its crazy how advanced there space station is. Overall great article! Thanks for sharing!
This video was so amazing and touching. I especially loved the part with you and your sister. You guys looked so cute and I’m sure you miss her a lot. Your experience of going to China looks such fun and hopefully, I can visit there one day. Thank you for putting together this video!!
Wow, this is such a cool article! I’ve never thought about how we would collect information from the “dark side” of the Moon – I’d always assumed that we’d be able to explore it just as well as the near side. Apparently not! It’s super interesting how the Queqiao satellite was launched to facilitate communication between Chang’e and Earth. I also loved the detail about the cotton seed experiment. I wonder how it’ll go!
Great article! There seems to be so much hope for the Chinese space program. It’s cool to know how advanced the technology is to land on the other side of the moon. I am excited to see new and different experiments that the future will hold. Thanks for sharing!