On 3 January 2019 the Chinese lander Chang'e 4 touched down in the Von Karman crater inside the South Pole-Aitken basin, the first soft landing on the Moon's far side. Because the Moon blocks direct radio contact, the mission relied on the relay satellite Queqiao placed beyond the Moon. The rover Yutu-2 explored the area for years, and the lander carried a small experiment that grew cotton seeds, which sprouted briefly before the cold lunar night. China followed with Chang'e 5 returning lunar samples in 2020.
Before and after
- 2019Introduction of Diem
- 2019Japan–South Korea trade dispute
- 20192019 Amazon rainforest wildfires
- 2019Known exoplanets pass 4,000
- 3 January 2019Chang'e 4 lands on the far side of the Moon
- from 11 January 2019 to 21 September 2023Premiere of Sex Education
- from 11 January 2019 to 5 January 2023Venezuelan presidential crisis
- 25 January 2019Brumadinho dam disaster
- 26 February 20192019 Balakot airstrike
More in Exploration & discovery
- 25 May 1961Kennedy commits the United States to a Moon landing
- 18 March 1965Alexei Leonov makes the first spacewalk
- 20 July 1976Viking 1 lands on Mars
- 1 July 2004Cassini enters orbit around Saturn and Huygens lands on Titan
- 6 August 2012Curiosity lands in Gale crater
- 25 August 2012Voyager 1 enters interstellar space
The era
This moment belongs to the Contemporary world (1945 CE to today), the world since 1945. You can also browse everything in the 21st century.