Why in News? China launched a “first-of-its-kind mission", Chang'e-6 spacecraft. It comes amid the buzz around the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) planning its next Moon mission - Chandrayaan-4.

What is the Chang'e 6 Lunar Probe? As per the CNSA, the Chang'e 6 is the world's first attempt to retrieve substances from the moon's far side - the side which is not visible from the Earth. It was launched onboard the Long March-5 Y8 carrier rocket from the Wenchang Spacecraft Launch Site in south China's Hainan Province. Till date, the US, the former Soviet Union and China have brought lunar samples back to Earth, but none has ever obtained samples from the far side of the moon.

What is the Aim of the Chang'e 6 Lunar Probe? The spacecraft consists of four components - an orbiter, a lander, an ascender and a re-entry module. After carrying out the surface operations, the ascender's rocket will elevate it to lunar orbit to dock with the re-entry module. It will transfer samples to the module, which will carry them to Earth.

What we Know About Chandrayaan 4 Mission? While Chang'e 6 mission aims to bring back samples from the Moon's far side, India's Chandrayaan 4 mission is being built to bring samples from the Moon's south pole region. It is expected to be launched in 2027. Also, ISRO chief S Somanath recently said Chandrayaan-4 is the first step towards achieving the goal of India landing an astronaut on the moon in 2040.

How Chandrayaan 4 Mission may be Executed? The next lunar mission will likely involve a PSLV and an LVM3 as launch vehicle options. The mission will include five spacecraft modules - Re-entry module (RM), Transfer Module (TM), Ascender Module (AM), Descender Module (DM) and Propulsion Module (PM).