The far side has far fewer ‘maria’, which are large dark patches caused by ancient volcanic flows. The first image of the far side of the Moon showed some surprising differences when compared with the face that we normally see.

To find out more, check out our blog: Why go back to the Moon? NASA has also chosen the South Pole as a future landing site. The South Pole has been chosen as the best location as water ice is present, which is a critical resource for any long term human exploration. The Chang’e 4 mission is part of a wider international goal to develop a human lunar colony near the South Pole. This 13 km deep crater was created by an impact that is thought to have been large enough to expose the deep lunar crust and some of the mantle material, giving an incredible opportunity to learn more about the Moon’s internal structure and origins. This mission has collected samples to determine the age and composition of the surface at the bottom of the South Pole-Aitken Basin. The first successful soft landing on the far side of the Moon took place in early 2019 by the China National Space Administration’s Chang’e 4 mission.

I was observing alive that part of the Moon that had been hidden from man for millions of years.” Finally the far side was bathed in sunlight and we stared in silence as the ancient far side craters slowly passed underneath. As we continued to orbit, shards of sunlight started to illuminate the peaks of craters just 60 miles below. “ We entered lunar orbit on the dark side, and the Moon, nowhere to be seen. Jim Lovell was one of the astronauts on board the Apollo 8, and recounts what it was like to experience this piece of history:

The US Lunar Orbiter programme then undertook the first detailed mapping of the far side of the Moon, but it was not until 1968 that the far side was first seen directly by human eyes, on the Apollo 8 mission. This mission captured much higher resolution images, revealing large chains of craters and a hemisphere that looked very different than the near side of the Moon. The next images of the Moon’s far side were not taken until six years later in 1965 by the Soviet probe Zond 3.

Why does staring in the dark get darker