China’s Chang’e-6 probe leaves lunar surface

China’s Chang’e-6 lunar probe has begun its long journey home, says the country’s space agency. According to an announcement made on Tuesday, the probe took off after two days collecting samples, and sailed into a predetermined orbit around the Moon. The samples gathered, including soil and rock from the relatively unexplored far side of the Moon, were stored in a special container, which will then be transferred to a re-entry capsule, due to return to Earth around June 25, in China’s Inner Mongolia region. The mission is the sixth in the Chang’e program, and the first to bring back samples from the far side of the Moon.