THIS is the chilling moment China became the first country ever to raise a national flag on the moon's far "dark side" in a historic mission.
The country's lunar spacecraft Chang'e-6 was seen flying the red and gold flag before it began its journey back to Earth carrying the first lunar rocks ever collected from the rarely-explored site.
On Sunday, the satellite successfully touched the lunar far side after descending from its orbit about 124 miles above the moon's surface to find a landing site.
The Chinese National Space Administration (CNSA) said the lunar spacecraft's landing and lift-off was an ''unprecedented feat in human lunar exploration''.
China is the only country to have successfully reached the moon's far side - having done so before in 2019.
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The ambitious space mission was designed to retrieve valuable rock and soil samples from the moon's rarely-explored far side.
Scientists say the mysterious samples could be "very different" from the ones collected from the near side of the moon - and could give invaluable insights to boost future space programs.
Huang Wu, an official at the China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation, said: "The [descent to a lower] orbit carried a few risks, so we needed precise control procedures to put [the probe] onto its preset trajectory.
"[We had to] rapidly reduce the probe's relative speed to zero within 15 minutes."
While sunlight falls equally on all sides of the moon, the far-away side is still not visible from the earth because it always faces away from our planet - and is therefore called the "dark side".
This is because the moon and the earth rotate in sync, and one side of the moon is always away, making it seemingly invisible.
Chang'e-6 spent two days scouring the surface and gathering the rare samples.
It used a high-tech drill to collect samples under the surface while a robotic arm attached to the probe's body grabbed specimens from the surface.
The probe is said to have collected about 2kg worth of material, which will now be studied by space scientists to gather important data that will allow astronauts to return to the Moon by 2030.
If successful, China will become the first nation to do so - and will find itself in a powerful position in the space race where players like the US, Russia, India and Japan are relentlessly competing.
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The global rush to the moon - especially to its far side - has picked up pace in the last few years.
In 2023, India made history by becoming the first country to land on the moon's south pole.
Just days before, Russia had attempted a South Pole touchdown, which ended in a crash landing.
Nasa's Artemis III mission is intended to explore a region near the lunar south pole.
The Artemis III mission forms parts of a decade-long programme that is hoped to culminate with a permanent lunar base by the end of the decade.
CHINA'S THREATENING SPACE AMBITIONS
Under dictator Xi's leadership, China has been brewing ambitious plans to become the leader of the global space rush.
The country spent roughly £11.2billion on its space programme in 2023, according to Statista.
While China was late to the first round of the space race, Beijing is investing heavily in becoming the second nation to put humans on the Moon by 2030.
The Chinese-owned Tiangong space station was completed in late 2022, and has been permanently manned since then.
China has doubled the number of satellites it has in orbit since 2019, according to the US Defence Intelligence Agency.
Experts also fear that China's monster network of tracking satellites could snoop on Western military operations.
Washington and Beijing currently have the most developed plans for securing separate permanent bases on the Moon, out of any other country in the world.
And fears are China, if it succeeds in making a giant leap ahead of the US, could threaten aggression in space.
A series of non-binding bilateral agreements called the Artemis Accords have been signed between the US and other nations to assure peace in space and on other planets.
However, China has stayed out of the agreement, indicating a potential threat from the communist country.
Nasa chief Bill Nelson, who has been outspoken about his fears surrounding China's activities in space, said: "My concern would be if China got there first and said, 'This is our territory, you stay out'.
"Obviously you don't want to interfere with each other but don't declare that this whole territory is suddenly yours."
China's military presence in the South China Sea signals how the country might behave on the lunar surface, Nelson has previously claimed, which would breach the 1967 Outer Space Treaty.
The country is also developing giant spy balloons and hypersonic missiles
