Infographic: China’s mission to the dark side of the Moon

China’s Chang’e-4 will be the first spacecraft ever to land on the far side of the Moon. The mission will test plant growth and listen for radio emissions normally blocked by Earth’s atmosphere. The mission is due to land in the Aitken Basin of the south pole in early January. The region is a vast impact region measuring some 2,500km in diameter and 13km deep, and it is the single-largest impact basin on the Moon and one of the largest in the Solar System. The Chang’e-4 lander carries three scientific payloads, respectively, developed by the Netherlands, Sweden and Germany.