China lands first spacecraft on far side of moon

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China spacecraft lands on far side of moonA spacecraft has landed on the far side of the moon for the first time, China's National Space Administration announced Thursday.

The rover Chang'e-4, which is named after the moon goddess in Chinese mythology, landed at 10:26 a.m. Beijing time in the South Pole-Aitken Basin, which is an impact crater, state news agency Xinhua reported.

The United States and the Soviet Union have made a "soft landing" on the moon -- China landed a rover there in 2013 -- but no other country has touched down on the dark side of the moon, which always faces away from the Earth.

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