China's Chang'e-6 Mission Leverages AI to Take Moon Selfie from the Best Angle

China's Chang'e-6 moon mission's historic selfie was reportedly made possible by an autonomous mini-rover that used artificial intelligence software to find the best angle for the photo.

According to sources, the four-wheeled rover was freed from the lander's side on Monday after collecting samples. It traveled independently around the lunar surface to obtain the optimum viewpoint for the photograph.

The autonomous intelligent mini-robot rover altered image composition before collecting third-person views of the lander-ascender pair and automatically relaying them back to Earth.

Sources did not divulge how many selfies the mini-rover took, and it is unknown whether the vehicle survived to photograph or record the ascending vehicle's lift-off with the collected samples on board. The rover lacked thermal control systems and had to deal with the lunar surface's extraordinarily high temperatures.

The landing reportedly took place at 6:23 a.m. in the South Pole-Aitken Basin, a large crater. Sources say it's Beijing time. This is Chang'e's sixth lunar exploration mission, named after the Chinese moon goddess. This is the second mission to deliver samples to Earth, after Chang'e 5's retrieval from the close side in 2020.

China's Competition

China's moon program underscores its rising space competition with other countries. It wants to send a human to the moon by 2030. Interestingly, China frequently deploys people to its space station.

According to Wang Qiong, deputy chief designer of state broadcaster China Central Television, Chang'e 6 is intended to update China's lunar scientific data by carrying out an organized, long-term study on the moon's far side to investigate the structure, construction, and physical features of lunar soil.

Because scientists on Earth cannot communicate directly with spacecraft in the remote region by radio transmission, studying the far side, which has more craters and less volcanic activity, is difficult. China claims to have developed a solution with its Queqiao, or "Magpie Bridge," relay satellite system.

China's Moon Missions

China is preparing larger, more complicated lunar probes for its Chang'e-7 and 8 missions, intending to establish a rudimentary lunar base by 2028. The country intends to collaborate with worldwide partners to transform the base into a full-scale international lunar research station for long-term scientific study and resource use near the moon's south pole.

China launched a relay satellite in March to strengthen communication between Chang'e 6 and Earth-based ground stations. The satellite is intended to assist two further lunar excursions, currently slated for 2026 and 2028.

According to a report released last year by the state-run Science and Technology Daily, China has allowed the United States and other countries to utilize Queqiao relay satellites for lunar research. However, the report lacked specifics.