China’s Chang’e 6 mission to the moon’s far side is carrying a secret rover, according to new photos released by the China Academy of Space Technology (CAST). The small gray object with wheels was spotted strapped to the side of the lander, which is scheduled to touch down early June.
The Chang’e 6 mission aims to be the first-ever to collect samples from the moon’s hidden far side and carry them to Earth. The main payload of the moon-bound rocket is a lunar lander that will collect samples from the surface and then launch them back to Earth in a return module.
Little else was known about the Chang’e 6 mission before launch, other than that it would also carry undisclosed payloads from France, Sweden, Italy, and Pakistan to the moon. However, following the successful launch, CAST released photos of the lander, and people quickly noticed the strange object strapped to its side.
The suspected rover’s primary task on the moon remains unclear. However, a subsequent report from the Shanghai Institute of Ceramics, which provided several components for the Chang’e 6 mission, revealed that it has an infrared imaging spectrometer. Due to the size of the robot and the conditions it will face on the moon, its mission will likely be short.
China has surprised the world with undisclosed payloads before. During the country’s Tianwen-1 mission to Mars in 2021, several spacecraft, including a Mars orbiter and the Zhurong rover, released secret mini-cameras to take selfies on or around the Red Planet.
CAST has also been secretive about other operations in the past, including the Tiangong space station and an incident in 2022 when a Chinese rocket carrying an undisclosed object re-entered Earth’s atmosphere uncontrolled.
The agency’s ultimate goal is to put humans on the moon by 2030, and the agency is carefully planning for this mission. The details of this mission are being kept closely under wraps, just like the details of the new rover.
