China became the first nation to land a spacecraft on the far side of the moon, the country’s state-run media announced Thursday, a milestone that solidifies Beijing’s ambitions to become a world leader in space exploration. The probe, dubbed the Chang’e-4, touched down at 10:26 a.m. Beijing time, landing on the moon’s dark side, which forever faces away from the Earth. Chang’e-4, which is carrying a rover that will explore the far side, has already sent images back to Earth. China sent a separate satellite into space in May to serve as a communications relay with the rover because being on the dark side of the moon prevents a direct signal from being sent back to Earth. Other missions have taken photos of the moon’s far side, but the images below are the first taken from the surface.

Source: Huffington Post January 03, 2019 06:00 UTC