China's Chang'e 4 probe lands on the dark side of the moon!

Early this morning, China's Chang'e 4 landed on the far side of the moon, becoming the first spacecraft to touch down on the 'dark side'.  The lander and rover were launched last month, a follow-up to Chang'e 3, China's very first lunar lander in 2013.

Chang'e 4 landed in the Aitken Basin, created by an ancient collision.  The rover will measure the lunar surface temperature, measure chemical compositions of rocks and soils and study cosmic rays.

China launches Chang’e 4 Lunar Rover 2018

The next step in lunar exploration blasted off from China's Xichang Satellite Launch Center, December 7, 2018.  The China National Space Administration successfully launched Chang'e 4 to the moon.  The space probe consists of a lander and a rover, expected to land on the far side of the moon January 3, 2019.

Since communications from the other side of the moon are impossible, Chang'e 4 will use a communications relay satellite about 65,000 km from its landing site, to keep in constant contact with Earth.

I'll keep you posted.