Not to be confused with Pink Floyd’s 1973 album, the Moon’s far side has puzzled scientists for decades. Thanks to its orbit, only the ‘near’ side is visible from Earth, and as such, it is well-researched. Although 2012's Iron Sky (a strong contender for the worst film ever made) would have you believe that there’s a Nazi base on the dark side of our Moon, Chang’e-6 found only basalt during its mission.
Evidence of volcanoes on The Moon’s Earth-facing side is nothing new and has been documented for decades. However, the finding is the first proof of similar conditions on the other side. While high-profile figures such as professional embarrassment Elon Musk have called for a permanently occupied Moon base to further propel research, the apparent problem that humans cannot breathe in the air (because there is none) makes sustaining astronauts for extended periods costly.
Budget issues have left NASA on the run, and no human has ever walked the lunar surface since 1972. However, America’s space agency aims to return people to the celestial body in a year with 2025’s Artemis II. The UK’s Beagle 2 probe, launched in 2003, performed a great gig in the sky by attempting to broadcast a song by Blur back to Earth, but otherwise, space travel hasn’t reached the levels of interest that it once had during the Cold War.
There is hope that the discovery, spearheaded by researchers at the Institute of Geology and Geophysics, will re-ignite interest in the Moon and justify the money spent on lunar missions without requiring the ‘us and them’ culture that dominated previous attempts to reach the satellite.
Lunar landers, such as Chang’e-6, can be painted any color but must be wrapped in a layer of insulation film to regulate temperature. Any mission to The Moon carries risks. Indeed, Russia’s Luna-25 crashed in 2023, a year that also saw Space X’s ‘Starship’ explode above Texas – a tragedy given that CEO Elon Musk was not aboard then.
Fears of brain damage from prolonged periods in space have since been disproven, with SAS (Space Adjustment Syndrome) – a condition similar to seasickness – being the worst illness faced by most astronauts. As such, research breakthroughs such as those achieved by Chang’e-6, will no doubt encourage new excitement and momentum for space travel and lunar exploration. Who knows, humanity’s future might eclipse our current achievements.
