The coolest new space pictures: June 2024
From beginning to end, June was marked by the success of China’s Chang’e-6 mission to the far side of the Moon. On June 1st, Chang’e-6 rang in the month with the second-ever soft-landing on that part of the Moon, touching down inside an impact crater within the larger South Pole-Aitken Basin. There, the lander drilled down into the lunar soil, used a robotic arm to collect material, then transferred the sample to an ascent vehicle.
![Chang'e-6 on the lunar farside](https://planetary.s3.amazonaws.com/web/assets/pictures/_1200x745_crop_center-center_82_line/change-6-lander-on-lunar-farside.jpg 1200w, https://planetary.s3.amazonaws.com/web/assets/pictures/_768x477_crop_center-center_82_line/change-6-lander-on-lunar-farside.jpg 768w, https://planetary.s3.amazonaws.com/web/assets/pictures/_576x358_crop_center-center_82_line/change-6-lander-on-lunar-farside.jpg 576w)
That rocket took off from the Moon two days later and went on to dock with the Chang’e-6 service module in orbit. On June 6, the sample was transferred again into a re-entry capsule. The service module made its way back to Earth, and on June 25, safely brought back the first-ever samples from the far side of the Moon.
![Chang'e-6 landing site](https://planetary.s3.amazonaws.com/web/assets/pictures/_2400x1262_crop_center-center_82_line/chang-e-6-lander-view.jpg 2400w, https://planetary.s3.amazonaws.com/web/assets/pictures/_1200x631_crop_center-center_82_line/chang-e-6-lander-view.jpg 1200w, https://planetary.s3.amazonaws.com/web/assets/pictures/_768x403_crop_center-center_82_line/chang-e-6-lander-view.jpg 768w, https://planetary.s3.amazonaws.com/web/assets/pictures/_576x302_crop_center-center_82_line/chang-e-6-lander-view.jpg 576w)
![Lunar far side from Chang'e-6](https://planetary.s3.amazonaws.com/web/assets/pictures/_1200x830_crop_center-center_82_line/far-side-from-change-6.jpg 1200w, https://planetary.s3.amazonaws.com/web/assets/pictures/_768x531_crop_center-center_82_line/far-side-from-change-6.jpg 768w, https://planetary.s3.amazonaws.com/web/assets/pictures/_576x398_crop_center-center_82_line/far-side-from-change-6.jpg 576w)
![Chang'e-6 from LRO](https://planetary.s3.amazonaws.com/web/assets/pictures/_1200x1200_crop_center-center_82_line/change-6-from-lro.jpg 1200w, https://planetary.s3.amazonaws.com/web/assets/pictures/_768x768_crop_center-center_82_line/change-6-from-lro.jpg 768w, https://planetary.s3.amazonaws.com/web/assets/pictures/_576x576_crop_center-center_82_line/change-6-from-lro.jpg 576w)
Some of the other images that caught our attention this month:
![Bright Angel from Perseverance](https://planetary.s3.amazonaws.com/web/assets/pictures/_2400x741_crop_center-center_82_line/bright-angel-perseverance.jpg 2400w, https://planetary.s3.amazonaws.com/web/assets/pictures/_1200x370_crop_center-center_82_line/bright-angel-perseverance.jpg 1200w, https://planetary.s3.amazonaws.com/web/assets/pictures/_768x237_crop_center-center_82_line/bright-angel-perseverance.jpg 768w, https://planetary.s3.amazonaws.com/web/assets/pictures/_576x177_crop_center-center_82_line/bright-angel-perseverance.jpg 576w)
![Olympus Mons frost from above](https://planetary.s3.amazonaws.com/web/assets/pictures/_1200x1200_crop_center-center_82_line/764053/olympus-mons-frost-zoomed.jpg 1200w, https://planetary.s3.amazonaws.com/web/assets/pictures/_768x768_crop_center-center_82_line/764053/olympus-mons-frost-zoomed.jpg 768w, https://planetary.s3.amazonaws.com/web/assets/pictures/_576x576_crop_center-center_82_line/764053/olympus-mons-frost-zoomed.jpg 576w)
![Frost on Olympus Mons](https://planetary.s3.amazonaws.com/web/assets/pictures/_2400x573_crop_center-center_82_line/olympus-mons-frost.jpg 2400w, https://planetary.s3.amazonaws.com/web/assets/pictures/_1200x286_crop_center-center_82_line/olympus-mons-frost.jpg 1200w, https://planetary.s3.amazonaws.com/web/assets/pictures/_768x183_crop_center-center_82_line/olympus-mons-frost.jpg 768w, https://planetary.s3.amazonaws.com/web/assets/pictures/_576x137_crop_center-center_82_line/olympus-mons-frost.jpg 576w)
![The world's first wooden satellite](https://planetary.s3.amazonaws.com/web/assets/pictures/_768x508_crop_center-center_82_line/wooden-satellite.jpg 768w, https://planetary.s3.amazonaws.com/web/assets/pictures/_576x381_crop_center-center_82_line/wooden-satellite.jpg 576w)