Samples from the Chinese space probe Chang'e 6 have landed on Earth. They are the first in the world to be collected from the Moon's far side.
"A complete success", according to the Chinese space agency CSNA.
The probe "is functioning normally, which signals that the Moon exploration mission Chang'e 6 was a complete success", says the space agency in a statement after the capsule landed as planned in Inner Mongolia.
The mission has been described by the Chinese space agency as "an achievement without precedent in human history regarding the exploration of the Moon".
In images from the Chinese news agency Xinhua, orange-clad personnel from CSNA are seen directing trucks and helicopters to the landing site. Local farmers and herders were evacuated before the landing.
The probe's 53-day mission is the world's first of its kind. Chang'e 6 has, with the help of a mechanical arm and a drill, retrieved soil and rocks from the side of the Moon that faces away from Earth. The area is, according to researchers, very interesting, as the materials retrieved can contribute to a better understanding of how the Moon was formed and how it has evolved over time.
The rocket with the Moon probe was launched from Hainan Province in southern China on 2 May and landed in the Aitken Basin on the Moon a month later.
The journey back to Earth began on 4 June, when Chang'e 6 took off from the Moon's far side.
