China says its lunar probe has successfully taken off from the far side of the moon to begin its journey back to Earth carrying the first samples ever collected from the region.
On Sunday, the robot landed in a giant crater close to the moon’s south pole in a world-first feat celebrated by the international science community.
China is the only country to have landed on the far side of the moon, having also done so before in 2019.
China aims to be the first country to bring back rock and soil samples from the far side of the moon, which scientists say could be very different from rock formations on the near side.
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