The Chang'e-6 mission launched in China on May 3, the goal of which is to deliver soil from the far side of the Moon to Earth. This is a significant event that will occur for the first time in human history if the spacecraft returns to Earth. However, information is spreading online that this is not the only task of the mission. Attentive observers discovered in the images an additional device, about which there is no information, attached to the side of the spacecraft. Most likely it is a mini-rover, similar to the one that was sent to the far side of the Moon in 2019.
A secret rover was spotted on board the Chinese landing module. Photo source: lookintothe.space
Why the Chang'e-6 mission is important for science
The main cargo of the Long March 5 “lunar rocket” launched on May 3 was a spacecraft with a landing module, which should land on the Moon in early June. In fact, this mission will accomplish the same tasks that were assigned to the Chang'e-5 mission in 2020. The only difference is that during the previous mission, lunar soil was delivered from the near side of the satellite.
As we told earlier, the far side of the Moon, which is not visible from Earth, is very different from the near side. Scientists don't know the reason for this. It is quite possible that the soil samples obtained as part of the Chang'e-6 mission will provide an answer to this question.
Lunokhod attached to the Chang'e-6 spacecraft. Photo source: livescience.com
Secret Chinese lunar rover
Preparations for the Chang'e-6 mission took place in conditions of information silence, that is, there was very little information about it in the media. What is known is that the landing module will deliver cargo from France, Sweden, Italy and Pakistan to the surface of the natural satellite, as reported by SpaceNews. However, there is no information about these cargoes either.
After the launch of the mission, the Chinese Academy of Space Technology (CAST) published new photos of the landing module. On them, people discovered a small gray object with wheels attached to the side of the lander. Previously, CAST did not say anything about this device. According to American journalist Andrew Jones, who closely monitors China's space program, the mysterious device looks like a small rover.
Why China sent a secret rover to the Moon
The proposed rover's mission remains unclear, but some information about it is beginning to emerge. For example, the Shanghai Ceramic Institute, which provided several components for the Chang'e 6 mission, said in a statement that the rover has an infrared spectrometer. Typically, infrared spectroscopy is used to determine the content of various organic and inorganic substances and their compounds in solid, liquid and gaseous samples. However, the exact purpose of the infrared spectrometer on board the rover is still unknown.
The Chang'e-6 spacecraft, which will deliver a landing module to the Moon. Photo source: prokosmos.ru
Based on the size of the device and the conditions in which it will work on the Moon, experts came to the conclusion that its mission will be short. Let us remember that the lunar night lasts 14 Earth days. During this period, the temperature on the Moon drops to -173 °C. Therefore, a small lunar rover most likely has no chance of “surviving” such conditions.
As mentioned above, the Chinese Academy of Space Technology has already sent the Yutu-2 rover to the far side of the Moon as part of the Chang'e-4 mission. Then the landing module also delivered it to the far side of the satellite. As a result, Yutu-2 was able to make several major finds, for example, it discovered small glass spheres filled with water.
China has not reported any selfie cameras on board the Zhurong in 2021. Photo source: business-standard.com
Why didn’t China tell the press anything about this rover? In fact, this is not surprising, since this is not the first time CAST has hidden this or that equipment on board landers. For example, in 2021, during the Tianwen-1 mission, the Zhurong rover and orbiter were equipped with secret mini-cameras that allowed taking selfies on the Red Planet.
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CAST also often hid information about other operations and incidents. For example, this concerns the death of the same Zhurong rover and the incident in 2022 when a Chinese rocket with an unknown cargo crashed into the surface of the Moon. Therefore, there is actually no sensation in the presence of a secret rover on board the landing module.