China has achieved an extraordinary first in planetary science.

Their Chang'e 6 mission has successfully returned a capsule to Earth containing the first-ever soil and rock samples collected from the far side of the Moon.

Chang'e-6: Collecting the first lunar farside samples

The far side is geologically very different to the near side we see from Earth; it lacks the large, dark volcanic plains (maria) and is far more heavily cratered.

Obtaining material from the immense South Pole-Aitken basin could provide the missing pieces to the puzzle of the Moon's early formation and the violent bombardment history of the inner solar system. The sheer complexity of operating a robotic sample return without a direct line of sight to Earth is staggering.