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China Makes History Again: Chang'e-6 Returns with Groundbreaking Moon Samples

In a remarkable achievement, China has successfully collected samples from the far side of the moon, marking a significant milestone in space exploration. The Chang'e-6 mission, launched on May 3, touched down in the Apollo crater within the vast South Pole-Aitken basin on June 1. During its brief but productive stay, the spacecraft gathered approximately 2 kilograms of lunar material using a scoop and drill. The samples, now stored in an ascent vehicle, are expected to return to Earth on June 25, landing in Inner Mongolia. This historic achievement not only demonstrates China's space program prowess but also provides scientists with a unique opportunity to unravel the mysteries of the moon's formation and evolution.   Achievements: - *First-ever samples from the far side*: Chang'e-6 successfully collects lunar material from the moon's less-explored hemisphere. - *Second successful farside landing*: China builds on its 2019 achievement with...
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Elon Musk To Hold a Presentation on Starship Development Next Thursday

SpaceX is expected to conduct a test that will see Starship go into orbit for the first time. Recent months have seen a range of high-altitude flights, but attempts to conduct that major orbital test have been delayed, in part because of regulatory problems. Starship is SpaceX’s big hope for the future of space travel, with chief executive Elon Musk saying it is key for his plans to head onto the Moon and Mars, and that its vast size is required to carry the cargo needed to go and live on other planets.

The update will take place on Thursday, 10 February at 8pm Texas time, Mr Musk said. (Texas is in two time zones, but Mr Musk is likely referring to the Central Time Zone, which would put the event at 9pm eastern time or 2am in the UK.) He then announced the time for the new presentation, though did not give any clues to what it might contain or what was planned.

Starship aspires to be the first fully reusable orbital launch vehicle, the holy grail of rocketry. This is the critical breakthrough needed to make life multiplanetary.” Mr Musk has given a number of such presentations through the life of Starship, which has been renamed and redesigned in a number of ways since it was first discussed in 2005. In the past, they have focused not only on new announcements but also on building excitement about the project.

“Starship is in a different league. Orders of magnitude more mass to orbit than Falcon. Necessary for creating a self-sustaining city on Mars,” he wrote. The announcement came at the end of a run of tweets during which Mr Musk was asked about the future of Starship. Mr Musk had announced that SpaceX’s other Falcon 9 vehicle is expected to launch about once a week in 2022, and a follower replied to ask how that would change when Starship came into use.

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