The far side of the moon has been a topic of fascination for centuries, with myths and legends about what secrets, structures, and possibly even undiscovered civilizations might be hiding there. For many years, mankind had no way of knowing what the far side of our constant galactic companion really looked like, but that changed in 1959 when the first images of the legendary lunar region were captured by a Soviet probe. However, it would take another 60 years before the next milestone was reached, when in 2019, the Chinese probe Chang’e 4 became the first unmanned spacecraft to touch down on the far side of the moon.

So, what really characterizes the notorious far side of the moon, and what unique discovery did the Chinese Jade Haze 2 rover make there a few weeks ago? To understand this, we need to compare the differences between the far side and the side of the moon facing the Earth. The far side is characterized by a lack of “mare” or low plains covered by solidified lava, which occurs much less frequently than on the side facing Earth. Consequently, the far side of the moon has a clearly higher reflectivity than the opposite area. Additionally, there are significantly more lunar grooves and mountains on the front side than on the far side of the satellite.

Remarkably, the far side of the moon consists mostly of bright highlands covered by impact sites, and some of these craters have unusually dark floors. The South Pole Aiken Basin is considered the largest impact site on the Earth satellite, with a diameter of 1300 miles. While the two hemispheres of the moon are strikingly unequal, these natural differences can be explained by the fact that the geometric center of the celestial body and its center of gravity are almost half a mile apart. This circumstance can be explained by the asymmetry between the crust of the moon and its interior structure.

The far side of the moon promises a completely different possibility for future astronomical research, as it provides an opportunity for the collection of particularly sensitive data. Undertakings on the front side of the satellite are always complicated by terrestrial interfering lights, such as those of the Hubble Space Telescope, as well as by terrestrial radio signals. However, with the help of highly complex spacecraft, we can now take a direct look at this legendary area and uncover some of the greatest cosmic secrets lying right on our terrestrial doorstep.