Roy Gardiner

2020-12-02 17:30:41

China's Chang'e 5 lands on the moon to collect the 1st fresh lunar samples in decades | Space

https://www.space.com/china-chang-e-5-lands-on-moon-to-collect-lunar-samples

China's Chang'e 5 lands on the moon to collect the 1st fresh lunar samples in decades

By Mike Wall a day ago

Chang'e 5 is the first lunar sample-return mission since 1976.

China has landed on the moon again — and this time the country plans to bring home some souvenirs.

Chang'e 5, China's first-ever sample-return mission, successfully touched down today (Dec. 1) in the moon's Ocean of Storms region, the China National Space Administration (CNSA) said in a statement. The state-run CGTN news channel initially announced the landing success.

Chang'e 5 touched down on the moon at 10:11 a.m. EST (1511GMT, 11:11 p.m. Beijing Time) near Mons Rümker, a mountain in the Ocean of Storms (or Oceanus Procellarum), CNSA officials said. The probe deployed its solar array and antenna soon after to begin its work on the moon.

Two pieces of the four-module, 18,100-lb. (8,200 kilograms) Chang'e 5 mission hit the gray dirt today — a stationary lander and an ascent vehicle. If all goes according to plan, the lander will spend the next few days collecting about 4.4 lbs. (2 kg) of lunar material, some of it dug from up to 6.5 feet (2 meters) beneath the lunar surface.

#Space #Moon #Change5 #China

China's Chang'e 5 lands on the moon to collect the 1st fresh lunar samples in decades

Chang'e 5 is the first lunar sample-return mission since 1976.

^{www.space.com}