People gather at a beach to watch China's lunar probe launch

People on Friday gather at a beach in China's Hainan to watch the launch of the Chang'e-6 lunar probe, which aims to collect around two kilograms of lunar samples from the far side of the Moon and bring them back to Earth for analysis.

It is the world first as Beijing pushes ahead with an ambitious programme that aims to send a crewed lunar mission by 2030.