Chang'e-6 is just the tip of China's ambitions for the Solar System.

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China's Chang'e-6 mission is intended to bring back lunar samples but is also a stepping stone to much more ambitious space exploration.

China has just landed its Chang'e-6 spacecraft on the unexplored far-side of the Moon. The probe touched down nearly one month after launching from Earth in one of China's most ambitious lunar missions to date, which sent a stack of four spacecraft towards the Moon. 

While the mission marks China's growing capability in space exploration, it also offers some indications of just how far the country's ambitions within the Solar System stretch.

The main aim of Chang'e-6 is to collect the first samples from the lunar far side and deliver them safely to Earth, potentially bringing back new insights into our nearest neighbour, our own planet, and the early history of the Solar System. To do this, China's quartet of spacecraft must perform an intricate cosmic dance. 

 The Chang'e-6 mission consists of four elements: a lunar orbiter, a lander, an ascender, and an Earth-reentry module . The aim is to collect samples from the lunar far side, specifically from the South Pole-Aitken Basin, one of the largest impact craters in the solar system