China wrote history on Thursday by announcing it has successfully landed a rover on the far side of the moon.

Chinese state media reported that China's National Space Administration(CNSA) landed the Chang'e Four lunar probe at 10:26 a.m. Beijing time Thursday in an impact crater near the South Pole.

The six-wheeled one-point-five-meter-long, one-meter-wide and one-meter-tall rover lifted off from the Xichang Satellite Launch Center in Sichuan Province on December eighth, entering the moon's orbit four days later.

The Chang'e Four also sent close-range images of the far side of the moon for the first time through a communications satellite that was launched last May.

The far side of the moon is the hemisphere that never faces earth, due to the moon's rotation.

The lander will conduct a number of tasks, including the first lunar low-frequency radio astronomy experiment, observing whether plants will grow in the low-gravity environment, and exploring whether there is water or other resources at the poles.