Tracking from Earth

European ground stations are providing support to the Chang’e-6 mission on its way to the Moon and back. Shortly after the launch from China on 3 May 2024, ESA’s Kourou station in French Guiana tracked the spacecraft for several hours to confirm its orbit.

Around 25 June, ESA will catch signals from the spacecraft as it returns to Earth loaded with lunar samples using the Maspalomas station, operated by the Instituto Nacional de Técnica Aerospacial (INTA) in Gran Canaria, Spain.