Categories: News

China Launches Change 5 Mission to Moon to Return Lunar Samples

China successfully launched its Chang’e-5 lunar mission Tuesday to collect rocks from the moon — the first attempt by any country since the 1970s.

The unmanned Chang’e-5 probe, named after the mythical Chinese goddess of the moon, blasted off from the Wenchang Spacecraft Launch Site in Hainan, near the country’s southern tip, in the early morning.
After liftoff, the spacecraft separated from its boosters and protective fairing, and went into Earth-moon transfer orbit. Live-streamed footage from the launch shows the Chinese teams and engineers applauding in the control room when the boosters fell away from each side of the rocket, and again when the spacecraft separated from the rocket in orbit.
Once in the moon’s orbit, the probe will deploy a pair of vehicles to the surface to drill into the ground and collect soil and rock samples. If successful, the mission will make China only the third country to have retrieved lunar samples, following the United States and the Soviet Union decades ago.
The Chang’e-5 probe will attempt to collect 2 kilograms (4.5 pounds) of samples in a previously unvisited area of the moon — a massive lava plain known as Oceanus Procellarum, or “Ocean of Storms.” According to NASA, this large dark spot, stretching about 2,900 kilometers (1,800 miles) wide, could be a scar from a giant cosmic impact that created an ancient sea of magma.
These samples could help scientists understand more about the moon’s origins and foundations — and set the foundation for more complex sample retrieval missions in the future, potentially on other planets.

admin

View Comments

  • Really hoped they'd aim to collect the samples from a site with better prospects of finding Helium-3 or lunar ice. But okay, plain old Basalt sounds good too!

    • Hi Syed:

      ChangE 3 mission actually mapped the Helium 3 sites very well for the future. I believe there is a future mission planned for Helium 3 sample excavation in not too far future with another mission.

Share
Published by
admin

Recent Posts

Indian ISRO Venus Orbiter Mission Shukrayaan will Conduct Detailed Venus Analysis

ISRO as India's National Space Agency, which has been one of the most active space…

1 month ago

After the Moon the Next Step is Mars: Humanity is Expanding

Although many countries are currently struggling with economic problems, humanity is also pursuing projects that…

1 month ago

Is Teleportation Becoming a Reality?

Will We Be Able to Beam Ourselves to Other Locations? Those born between 1960 and…

1 month ago

The World’s First Civilian Space Walk and First Space Hotel

Space studies are progressing at a very high speed in the world. In my previous…

2 months ago

Ideal MTech Aerospace Engineering Program with 1 Year Internship to Solidify Experience

 Ideal MTech Aerospace Engineering Program with 1-Year Internship: A Comprehensive Pathway A Master of Technology…

2 months ago

Increasing Sun Activity with Sunspots and Solar Storms: 2025 is Expected to be Solar Maxima

Sun is the Essence of Life Our sun is the most important factor for life…

2 months ago