The first-of-its-kind mission aims to bring back samples from the far side of the moon and is the latest step in a rapidly advancing Chinese space program.

China's launched its Chang'e 6 sample-return mission, which will haul dirt and rocks home from the mysterious lunar far side.

A Long March 5 rocket carrying the Chang'e 6 lunar far side sample return mission is scheduled to launch between 5:17 a.m. EDT (0917 GMT) and 6:18 a.m. EDT (1018 GMT) on Friday. The mission will take off from China's Wenchang Satellite Launch Center on the tropical island province of Hainan, off the southeastern coast of mainland China.

China launches Chang’e-6 mission to collect first samples from the moon’s far side China launched its complex and ambitious Chang’e-6 mission Friday to collect the first ever samples from the far side of the moon.

China launched an uncrewed lunar probe Friday that it hopes makes it the first nation to ever retrieve samples from the far-side of the moon.

China on Friday launched an uncrewed spacecraft on a nearly two-month mission to retrieve rocks and soil from the far side of the moon, the first country to make such an ambitious attempt. The Long March-5,

The launch of a mission to the moon by China was the latest move in a renewed space race. The unmanned mission will collect lunar samples from the far side of the moon in an effort to learn more about the moon's origins.