Missions to the Moon have rapidly increased, and some are unique and groundbreaking, but not all of them work. Subscribe now for unlimited access . Login or signup to continue reading $ 0 / $ NaN /year All articles from our website & app The digital version of Today's Paper Breaking news alerts direct to your inbox Interactive Crosswords, Sudoku and Trivia All articles from the other regional websites in your area Continue China's latest mission to the Moon, Chang'e 6, which reached its destination a few weeks ago, is on its way back from the Moon and is expected to land in Mongolia on Tuesday.
The mission is carrying samples from the far side of the Moon, which will be the first time ever humans have done this. The far side of the Moon is often called the dark side of the Moon. Don't turn on Pink Floyd yet though - it isn't actually dark, because it does get sunlight.
However, it is the side of the Moon that is always facing away from Earth. It receives nearly the same amount of light as the near side of the Moon, the side that we see at night and which is always facing us. For lunar missions, what makes it difficult to land on the far side of the Moon is the lack of line-of-sight, meaning you can't communicate directly with it.
Apollo 8, the first mission to go around the Moon, was the first to face the risk that - as humans went around this side - they would lose contact with Earth, a communications blackout. If something went wrong, there would be no one to call or get he.
