Chinese mission set to blast off to far side of moon: What you need to know about NASA and China’s space race

China’s Chang’e-6 robotic spacecraft is due to blast off on Friday, hoping to become the first mission to collect rock and soil samples from the far side of the moon. It is the next step in a tense race between NASA and China to create bases on the moon, and from there, lift off to Mars. Since the first Chang’e mission in 2007, named after the mythical Chinese moon goddess, Beijing has made leaps forward in its lunar exploration. What is Chang’e 6 going to do? The spacecraft is set to land on the northeastern side of the huge South…