In a congratulatory message to the members of the program, the president said that the return of the probe marks another historic achievement ‘in China’s effort to become a space and science and technology power.’

Xi extended his greetings to all the participants in this mission on behalf of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China, the Council of State and the Central Military Commission.

He stressed that over the past 20 years, those involved in the lunar exploration project ‘have scaled the heights of science and technology and made remarkable achievements that have captured the world’s attention.’

The president emphasized that these contributions will always be remembered by the country and the people.

The Chang’e-6 probe, carrying the lunar samples, landed on Tuesday at the designated area in north China’s Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region at 14:07 hours, Beijing local time. Since its launch on May 3, 2024, it went through several stages, such as Earth-Moon transfer, braking near the Moon, lunar orbit and descent for lunar landing, which was in a crater located inside the Aitken Basin of the South Pole.

Chang’e-6 carried payloads and satellite projects from France, the European Space Agency, Italy and Pakistan.

On the occasion of this achievement, the Chinese Foreign Ministry celebrated the success of the lunar exploration program, which celebrates its 20th anniversary this year.

Spokeswoman Mao Ning reiterated Beijing’s readiness to continue to work with international partners to explore ‘the common frontier of humanity,’ while stressing the commitment to the peaceful use of this outer space.

jg/abo/mem/idm