[3] The Chang'e 6 spacecraft landed within Apollo basin in 2024, collected samples of the surface, then brought them to Earth for analysis.

The interior floor is covered in a multitude of craters of various sizes, some of which have been named for people associated with the Apollo program or other NASA projects.

In 2006 the IAU approved a proposal to name seven interior craters to honor the astronauts killed in the Space Shuttle Columbia disaster.

China launched the Chang'e 6 robotic mission on 3 May 2024, which seeks to return the first lunar sample from the Apollo Basin on the far side of the Moon.

[8] The lander-ascender-rover combination separated from the orbiter and returner before landing in the southern mare of the Apollo basin on 1 June 2024 at 22:23 UTC; its precise landing location is near lunar coordinates 41°38′19″S 153°59′07″W / 41.6385°S 153.9852°W / -41.6385; -153.9852[9][10][11][12] After the probe collected far-side regolith samples and placed it on the ascender, the latter probe segment launched back into lunar orbit on 3 June 2024 at 23:38 UTC.