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Historic Moon Landing

IT'S A FIRST China’s lunar rover begins exploring the far side of the moon. CHINA NATIONAL SPACE ADMINISTRATION/AFP/GETTY IMAGES

A Chinese spacecraft called Chang’e-4 landed on the far side of the moon on January 3. It is the first time a craft has successfully landed there. The far side is the part of the moon that faces away from Earth.

“The landing on the far side shows China’s technology is powerful,” He Qisong, a space expert at the East China University of Science and Law, in Shanghai, told the Associated Press.

The landing was not easy. China first had to put a satellite in space. It sends information between Earth and Chang’e-4. Otherwise, the moon itself would get in the way. The craft’s rover, Yutu-2, will collect images. Scientists hope the mission will shed light on the development of our solar system.