BEIJING, CHINA — Beijing's mission to the unexplored dark side of the moon got underway over the weekend.<br /><br />China launched its Chang'e-4 lunar probe, which carries a lander and a rover, on Saturday. It is expected to be the first probe to ever make a landing on the far side of the moon. Beijing has not yet announced the official landing date of the probe. However, it is expected to land in early January 2019.<br /><br />The lander would include a landing camera, terrain camera, and a low-frequency spectrometer, while the rover would include a panoramic camera and a visible and a near-Infrared imaging spectrometer, according to Space.com The probe would be able to send data back via the Chinese relay satellite "Queqiao," Xinhua reports <br /><br />Potato, arabidopsis seeds and silkworm eggs will also be taken to the moon, according to Global Times. This will reportedly be to test if they are able to be grown in a low-gravity lunar environment.
