Exploration of the Moon

In a remote area of China, the Chinese spacecraft Chang’e-6 landed smoothly on Tuesday, bringing back rock samples from the dark side of the Moon, also known as the far side of the Moon.

China's Chang'e-6 spacecraft successfully completed its groundbreaking mission to retrieve samples from the far side of the moon, returning to Earth after a challenging 53-day journey, as reported by AFP.

China has launched a lunar probe on May 3 that will land on the far side of the moon and return with samples that could provide insights into geological and other differences between the less-explored region and the better-known near side.

The country has stated that it wants its astronauts to stay on the moon for long periods once it establishes a lunar research station

The White House announced on April 2 it is directing NASA to create a unified time standard for the Moon and other celestial bodies, as governments and private companies increasingly compete in space.

The American private spacecraft "Odyssey", developed by the Texas-based company Intuitive Machines, successfully landed on the Moon, as reported by AFP.

According to Reuters, this event represents the first time in fifty years that the United States has landed on the Moon. The agency highlights that, notably, this lunar landing was accomplished using a privately owned spacecraft.

“Odysseus” will carry a combination of commercial cargo and NASA science instruments and is expected to land near the moon’s south pole

An American private lunar lander from Intuitive Machines was launched after a 24-hour delay due to fuel issues. The Nova-C Odysseus lander, developed by the spaceflight company Intuitive Machines (IM), could be the first private mission, known as IM-1, to successfully land undamaged on the lunar surface.

American companies will attempt to send a spacecraft to the Moon on February 14th, when Valentine's Day is celebrated in many places. This comes just a month after the failure of the first private mission, reported by the AFP. The mission will be carried out by a lunar lander belonging to the company "Intuitive Machines", based in Houston, Texas.

On the second day of his visit to Washington, the Minister of Finance, Asen Vassilev, visited the headquarters of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) of the USA. He met with the agency's director, Bill Nelson, whom he invited to visit Bulgaria on behalf of the government. Nelson confirmed that he would come in October.