Remarkable pictures sent back by China's Chang'e 4 probe give us a glimpse from the surface of the far side of the moon for the first time ever.
In a world-first for space exploration, a Chinese spacecraft has made its first landing on the far side.
The lunar explorer Chang'e 4 had touched down at 10.26am on Thursday (local time), Chinese state media reported.
Stunning pictures have shown the side of the moon that is never visible to our planet as it rotates at the same rate as it orbits earth.
Previous spacecraft have seen the far side of the moon but none have landed on it. The first pictures of the far side of the moon were taken in 1959 but none have ever been taken for the surface.
The landing "lifted the mysterious veil" of the far side of the moon and "opened a new chapter in human lunar exploration", the agency said in a statement on its website, which included a wide-angle colour picture of a crater from the moon's surface.
As well as revealing images of the far side, photos which show the ambitious aircraft taking off have also been released.
Jubilant scenes were seen in the Beijing Aerospace Control Center as the probe touched down.
The probe, launched last month, will explore both above and below the lunar surface.
The work of Chang'e 4, which is carrying a rover, includes carrying out astronomical observations and probing the structure and mineral composition of the terrain.
"The far side of the moon is a rare quiet place that is free from interference of radio signals from Earth," mission spokesman Yu Guobin said, according to Xinhua.
"This probe can fill the gap of low-frequency observation in radio astronomy and will provide important information for studying the origin of stars and nebula evolution."
