June 25 (UPI) — China’s Chang’e-6 mission successfully returned to Earth early Tuesday, bringing with it the first-ever samples retrieved from the far side of the moon.

The Chang’e-6 return capsule successfully landed in the Siziwang Banner area of China’s Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region at 2:07 p.m. local time, the China National Space Administration said in a statement.

“This marks the complete success of the Chang’e-6 mission of the lunar exploration program, achieving the world’s first sample return from the far side of the moon,” it said.

With the touchdown ends Chang’e-6’s nearly two-month mission to space.

The probe consisting of an orbiter, lander, ascender and returner launched May 3 from China with a final destination of the far side of the moon, where it landed June 2.

Though only on the moon’s surface for a few days days, the probe collected samples from a crater known as the Pole-Aitken basin before departing the lunar surface on June 4 for home.

At about 1:20 p.m. Tuesday, the return capsule successfully separated from the orbiter at an altitude of approximately 3,106 miles above the south Atlantic Ocean and entered the Earth’s atmosphere about 20 minutes later.

According to the space agency, the capsule then “bounced back” out of the atmosphere over the Indian Ocean as part of an “initial aerodynamic deceleration” before re-entering the atmosphere when he performed a second deceleration maneuver.

When about 12 miles above ground the capsule moved to parachute deployment, which occurred as it was 6 miles from landing.

Prior to landing Tuesday, the space agency sent out a press release announcing Chang’e-6’s scheduled return, stating it was coming with “a precious ‘gift’ from the back of the moon.”

President Xi Jinping has extended his congratulations on the success of the mission, state-owned Xinhua reported.

“The Chang’e-6 mission represents a significant milestone in the history of human lunar exploration, and it will contribute to a more comprehensive understanding of lunar evolution,” Yang Wei, a researcher at the Institute of Geology and Geophysics of the Chinese Academy for Sciences, told the state-owned news agency in a separate report.

“New samples will inevitably lead to new discoveries.”

China is the only nation to visit the far side of the moon, with Chang’e 6 being its second visit following the Chang’e 4 mission in 2019.