What the Chang’e-4 lander discovered and why it’s important

On December 8, 2018, the Chinese interplanetary station Chang’e-4 set off for the far side of the Moon. The Long March 3B rocket soared into the night sky carrying a lander and rover to an area never before visited by any station. This launch culminated years of work by engineers and opened a new chapter in exploring the hidden hemisphere of our satellite. The far side of the Moon remained unknown until 1959 when the Soviet station Luna-3 transmitted the first images of the unseen hemisphere, exposing dense crater fields and ancient terrain that had endured numerous impact events.