China - Recent

Storyline:
China's Chang'e-6 probe has made history after completing its 53-day mission on Tuesday, becoming the first spacecraft to successfully retrieve and return precious samples from the mysterious far side of the Moon and bringing mankind closer to understanding our enigmatic celestial neighbor.

The return capsule touched down at the designated landing site in the Siziwang Banner of north China's Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region at 14:07 (Beijing Time) Tuesday, with the China National Space Administration (CNSA) declaring the mission a complete success, marking another remarkable achievement in China's space exploration endeavors.

The momentous Chang'e-6 mission was considered one of the most complex and challenging undertakings in China's space exploration efforts to date, as the country attempted to complete a feat never dared before.

Consisting of an orbiter, a returner, a lander and an ascender, the probe was launched from the tropical southern island province of Hainan on May 3, with the mission overcoming numerous obstacles during its various mission stages, including completing the near-moon braking maneuver to enter lunar orbit and seeing the separation of the lander-ascender combination and the orbiter-returner combination, which all went as planned.

Supported by the Queqiao-2 relay satellite -- which was put into position shortly before the mission to aid communication with the 'dark side' of the moon -- the lander-ascender combination landed at the designated lunar landing area in the South Pole-Aitken (SPA) Basin on June 2 and began its pivotal sampling work.

After two days on the lunar surface, the ascender took off from the moon and entered lunar orbit. A further two days later, it completed rendezvous and docking with the orbiter-returner combination and carefully transferred the precious cargo to the return vehicle. The ascender then separated from the combination and later landed on the moon under the guidance of the ground control team, to avoid the discarded craft becoming a piece of space junk.

The orbiter-returner combination then spent 13 days in lunar orbit, awaiting the right window of opportunity to make its return to Earth. After completing two Moon-Earth transfer maneuvers and one orbital correction, the returner separated from the orbiter and began its journey back to Earth, culminating in Tuesday's historic touchdown.

Shotlist:
Beijing, China - June 2, 2024:
FILE: Wenchang City, Hainan Province, south China - May 3, 2024
1. Aerial shot of combination of Chang'e-6 lunar probe, Long March-5 Y8 carrier rocket at launch tower;
2. SOUNDBITE (Chinese) Zhang Yuhua, deputy commander-in-chief, Chang'e-6 mission (starting with shot 1):
"We are all full of hope today.";
3. Various of rocket, facilities;
4. Technicians waiting for launch of Chang'e-6 lunar probe;
5. Combination of Chang'e-6 lunar probe, Long March-5 Y8 carrier rocket at launch tower;
6. Technicians at control center giving order of ignition;
7. Various of rocket, carrying Chang'e-6 spacecraft, blasting off, flying in sky;
8. Various of crowd cheering;
9. SOUNDBITE (English) Neil Melville-Kenney, Negative Ions on Lunar Surface (NILS) technical officer, European Space Agency (ESA) (starting with shots 7-8):
"What a fantastic launch. We are on the way to the moon, congratulations.";
10. Rocket climbing after launch;
Beijing, China - June 2, 2024
11. Screen showing countdown time to Chang'e-6 descent to moon;
12. Animation of Chang'e-6 descending for landing on Moon's far side;
13. Various of technicians at control center;
14. Animation of Chang'e-6 lunar probe descending;
15. Lunar surface;
16. Technicians at control center;
In space - June 2, 2024
17. Chang'e-6 landing on Moon's far side;
Beijing, China - June 2, 2024
18. Animations of Chang'e-6 lunar probe, robotic arm collecting samples;
19. Technicians at control center;
In Space - June 2, 2024
20. Various of drilling underway to collect sample;
Beijing, China - June 2, 2024
21. SOUNDBITE (Chinese) Li Chunlai, deputy chief designer, Chang'e-6 mission (starting with shot 20):
"Every gram of the samples from the far side of the Moon is absolutely priceless.";
In Space - June 2-4, 2024
22. Various of Moon surface sampling in progress;
Beijing, China - Recent
23. SOUNDBITE (Chinese) Deng Xiangjin, staff, China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation (ending with shot 24):
"Some people say it looks like a dove of peace.";
In Space - June 4, 2024
24. Marks on Moon surface;
In Space - June 2-4, 2024
25. Samples being sealed;
China - Recent
26. SOUNDBITE (Chinese) Hu Hao, chief designer, Chang'e-6 mission (starting with shot 25):
"The moon is within our reach.";
In space - June 3, 2024
27. Chang'e-6 probe displaying China's national flag;
28. China's national flag on far side of moon;
China - Recent
29. SOUNDBITE (English) Sylvestre Maurice, astrophysicist, University of Toulouse (ending with shot 30):
"People always think that this mission is all about science. True. It's all about technology. True. And it's about human experience. It's about people.";
In space - Recent
30. Animation showing orbiter-returner combination approaching Earth;
Siziwang Banner, Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, north China - June 25, 2024
31. Various of Chang'e-6 returner with parachute deployed approaching landing site, touching down;
32. Chang'e-6 returner, Chinese national flag at landing site;
Beijing, China - June 25, 2024
33. Screen at Beijing Aerospace Control Center reading "celebrating success of Chang'e-6 mission", engineers applauding.

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