Beijing, 2 June 2024 (dpa/MIA) - China has landed an unmanned probe on the far side of the moon in a bid to become the first country to gather rock samples from the largely unexplored area, state news agency Xinhua reported on Sunday citing the Chinese space agency.

A landing module of the Chang'e 6 spacecraft, named after the Chinese Moon goddess, "successfully" touched down on the moon on Sunday morning, according to the report.

The mission is considered a milestone for the country's ambitious space programme. If successful, it would mark the first time that soil and rock samples from the far side of the moon are brought back to Earth.

It is the sixth lunar mission launched by China since 2007.

📸Marvelous landing video of Chang'e 6 on the far side of the moon. Full HD:https://t.co/wcHp6Q42Sk pic.twitter.com/XY0jMIKVtL

— CNSA Watcher (@CNSAWatcher) June 2, 2024

The Chang'e 4 in 2019 became the first spacecraft to land on the far side of the moon, the lunar hemisphere which always faces away from the Earth. The Chang'e 5, meanwhile, collected samples from the near side of the moon in 2020.

The new mission launched on May 3 and expected to last 53 days is set to collect samples from the South Pole-Aitken basin, a major crater.

The samples are expected to be brought back to Earth around June 25.

China has said it wants to send a manned lunar mission by 2030. The moon has become the subject of renewed interest to many spacefaring nations in recent years due to the valuable raw materials it is believed to contain.