Recent imagery hints that the Chang’e 6 lunar mission launched by China last week may be transporting a previously undisclosed rover to the Moon’s far side.
Unexpected Component Linked to Chang’e 6 Raises Speculation
Experts have spotted an unusual new device attached to the side of the Chang’e 6 lander, which is scheduled to arrive on the Moon next month.
Last Friday, China’s space authority successfully deployed the Chang’e 6 spacecraft atop an autonomous Long March 5 rocket. The mission aims to be the first to return lunar rock samples from the Moon’s far side.
The main payload is expected to land near the lunar south pole by early June. There, the lander will collect approximately 2 kilograms of lunar material for transport back to Earth in a return capsule.
China has acknowledged carrying scientific instruments from countries such as France, Sweden, Italy, and Pakistan as part of this journey.
Still, newly released images reveal a small gray wheeled device mounted on the lander’s side that was not officially disclosed and seems to have been launched along with the mission.
“That looks like a previously undisclosed mini rover on the side of the Chang’e-6 lander,” remarked space journalist Andrew Jones, a prominent observer of China’s space efforts, on X.
Yeah, okay. That looks like a previously undisclosed mini rover on the side of the Chang’e-6 lander lol. Via CAST: https://t.co/gS0Jy5L9hw pic.twitter.com/9vvTnribpl
— Andrew Jones (@AJ_FI) May 3, 2024
Although the exact mission of this secret rover remains unclear, representatives from the Shanghai Institute of Ceramics, a contributor to the mission’s hardware, have revealed that the concealed robot is equipped with an infrared imaging spectrometer.
Secrecy in China’s Lunar Projects Draws Increasing Scrutiny
It’s likely not the first occasion that a Chinese lunar mission has included an undisclosed payload.
Back in 2022, a rocket booster crashed onto the Moon after losing control, creating an unusual crater and fueling speculation that it was carrying a covert payload.
Despite Chinese officials denying ownership of the rocket body, trajectory analysis and light reflections confirm that it was a "Long March 3C rocket body (R/B)" linked to the Chang’e 5-T1 mission.
Research from the University of Arizona suggests the rocket booster contained a significant mass atop it, balancing the dual engines below.
NASA Administrator Bill Nelson has voiced concerns over China’s opaque space activities.
“China has made extraordinary strides, especially in the last 10 years, but they are very, very secretive,” he told lawmakers in Washington earlier this year.
“We believe that a lot of their so-called civilian space programme is a military programme. And I think, in effect, we are in a race,” Nelson added, urging the US to maintain vigilance.
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