page_title: Chang'e 4
hierarchical_section_title: Chang'e 4
caption_attribution_description: English: Moon farside: mosaic of images, made by Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (Wide Angle Camera). Centered on latitude 0.0, longitude 180. Brightness of the original image was increased.
context_page_description: Chang'e 4 is a robotic spacecraft mission, part of the second phase of the Chinese Lunar Exploration Program. It achieved humanity's first soft landing on the far side of the Moon, on 3 January 2019.
  A communication relay satellite, Queqiao, was first launched to a halo orbit near the Earth–Moon L₂ point in May 2018. The robotic lander and Yutu-2 rover were launched on 7 December 2018 and entered lunar orbit on 12 December 2018, before landing on the Moon's far side. The mission is the follow-up to Chang'e 3, the first Chinese landing on the Moon.
  The spacecraft was originally built as a backup for Chang'e 3 and became available after Chang'e 3 landed successfully in 2013. The configuration of Chang'e 4 was adjusted to meet new scientific and performance objectives. Like its predecessors, the mission is named after Chang'e, the Chinese Moon goddess.
context_section_description: Chang'e 4 (/tʃɑːŋˈə/; Chinese: 嫦娥四号; pinyin: Cháng'é Sìhào; lit.: 'Chang'e No. 4') is a robotic spacecraft mission, part of the second phase of the Chinese Lunar Exploration Program.   It achieved humanity's first soft landing on the far side of the Moon, on 3 January 2019. 
  A communication relay satellite, Queqiao, was first launched to a halo orbit near the Earth–Moon L₂ point in May 2018. The robotic lander and Yutu-2 (Chinese: 玉兔二号; pinyin: Yùtù Èrhào; lit.: 'Jade Rabbit No. 2') rover were launched on 7 December 2018 and entered lunar orbit on 12 December 2018, before landing on the Moon's far side. The mission is the follow-up to Chang'e 3, the first Chinese landing on the Moon. 
  The spacecraft was originally built as a backup for Chang'e 3 and became available after Chang'e 3 landed successfully in 2013. The configuration of Chang'e 4 was adjusted to meet new scientific and performance objectives. Like its predecessors, the mission is named after Chang'e, the Chinese Moon goddess.
caption: The far side of the Moon, which is not visible from Earth due to tidal locking.  The landing site in Von Kármán crater is at bottom center.
exif: {"Image DateTime": "2014:08:18 01:57:46", "Image ExifOffset": "58", "Thumbnail Compression": "JPEG (old-style)", "Thumbnail JPEGInterchangeFormat": "106", "Thumbnail JPEGInterchangeFormatLength": "5001"}