China announced the cooperation plan for its future Chang'e-6 mission, offering to carry a total of 20 kg of solicited¹ payloads, according to the China National Space Administration (CNSA) on Thursday.

 

中国国家航天局周四宣布，嫦娥六号将开展合作计划，为国际合作伙伴提供10公斤的载荷。

 

The orbiter and lander of the Chang'e-6 mission will each reserve 10 kg for payloads, which will be selected from both domestic colleges, universities, private enterprises and foreign scientific research institutions, said Liu Jizhong, director of the China Lunar Exploration and Space Engineering Center of the CNSA, at a press conference.

 

China is expected to launch the Chang'e-5 probe by the end of this year to bring moon samples back to Earth.

 

As the backup of the Chang'e-5 mission, the Chang'e-6 mission will also collect lunar samples automatically for comprehensive analysis and research, Liu said.

 

Its launch time and landing site will depend on the performance of the Chang'e-5 mission, he explained.

 

According to Liu, the Chang'e-6 probe will be comprised of an orbiter, a lander, an ascender and a return capsule.

 

It will enter the Earth-moon transfer orbit, slow near the moon to enter the lunar orbit and descend² and land on a preset area on the moon.

 

After collecting lunar samples, the ascender will rise from the lunar surface for rendezvous³ and docking with the orbiter flying around the moon. Then the return capsule will fly back to Earth via the moon-Earth transfer orbit, reenter the atmosphere, land and be retrieved⁴.

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