China's lunar probe successfully landed on the far side of the moon, where it should bring back soil and rocks in a first of its kind attempt, state news agency Xinhua reported on Sunday.

The Chang'e-6 touched down in the immense South Pole-Aitken Basin, among the largest known impact craters in the solar system, Xinhua said, citing the China National Space Administration.

Chang'e-6's complex mission began on May 3 and is due to last 53-days. 

What are the probe's next steps?

After landing, the probe will attempt to scoop up lunar soil and rocks from the hardly-explored far side of the moon, which is invisible from Earth and has received relatively little scientific attention. 

The lander will use a mechanical arm and a drill to gather up to 2 kilograms (4.4 pounds) of surface and underground material to send back in a capsule that is currently orbiting the moon.

Scientists hope that material collected might shed light on how the moon was formed.

Afterward, the Chinese probe will attempt an unprecedented launch from that side of the moon.

China's space ambitions

Chinese President Xi Jinping's tenure has witnessed many leaps in China's space project, with a large amount of resources poured into the program over the last decade.

Notable achievements include building its own space station, Tiangong or "heavenly palace," after being excluded from the International Space Station, amid growing competition with the US and Washington's concerns that China is using the space program to mask military objectives. Tiangong was launched in 2021.

Beijing has also landed a robotic rover on Mars and the moon. It aims to send a crewed mission to the moon by 2030, as well as bring back samples from Mars around the same year.

China conducted its first crewed space mission in 2003, becoming the third country after the former Soviet Union and the US to put a person into space using its own resources.

rmt/kb (AFP, AP)