China says it has successfully landed a robotic spacecraft on the far side of the Moon, the first ever such attempt and landing.

At 10:26 Beijing time (02:26 GMT), the unmanned Chang'e-4 probe touched down in the South Pole-Aitken Basin, state media said.

It is carrying instruments to characterise the region's geology, as well as a biological experiment.

State media called the landing "a major milestone in space exploration".

While past missions have been to the Earth-facing side, this is the first time a craft has landed on the unexplored far side.

The probe has sent some first pictures from the surface. With no direct communications link possible, all pictures and data are first sent to a separate satellite and then relayed from there to earth.

In recent days, the Chang'e-4 spacecraft had lowered its orbit in preparation for landing.

At the weekend, Chinese state media said the probe had entered an elliptical path around the Moon, bringing the vehicles to within 15km (9 miles) of the lunar surface at its closest point.

Source: bbc.com
BDST: 1230 HRS, JAN 3, 2019
RS