China has just landed a new spacecraft on the surface of the moon. The mission, Chang’e 5, will collect moon rocks and earth to bring them back to Earth, as part of the first sample return mission to China.
What happened: China launched Chang’e 5 on November 23. On Sunday, while in lunar orbit, Chang’e 5 split into two parts: an orbiter and a return capsule that would remain in lunar orbit, and a landing and ascension stage that would make its way. . to the surface a few days later.
At approximately 10:13 a.m. Eastern Time today, the lander successfully landed at a site near Mons Rümker, a volcanic formation in the region of Oceanus Procellarum on the western edge of the near face of the moon . This area is believed to be home to moon rocks that are a few billion years younger than those brought by the Apollo program. Chang’e 5 is expected to begin drilling into lunar soil to obtain underground samples almost immediately.
In search of moon rocks: Chang’e 5 will aim to collect at least four pounds of material on the moon. One-quarter will come from underground samples (about 6.5 feet deep) and the other three-quarters will come from surface material. Unlike its predecessor, the lunar rover, the Chang’e 5 is not equipped with a heating unit to protect its more sensitive components from the freezing temperatures of the lunar night. This means the mission only has 14 days (the length of the lunar day) to properly collect samples before freezing (figuratively speaking).
In about 48 hours, the ascension vehicle will transport the lunar samples to a rendezvous with the orbiter, who will then place the samples in the return capsule and return to Earth a few days later. As it approaches Earth, the orbiter will drop the return capsule, which is expected to land in Inner Mongolia by December 17.
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Make history: At this point, China is no stranger to lunar missions. The country has successfully carried out four robotic missions to the Moon, including the delivery of two rovers to the surface. Chang’e 5 is the country’s third lunar landing, but only its first sample return mission. Only the United States and the former Soviet Union brought moon rocks to Earth. If successful, this will be the first time in 44 years (since the Soviet Union’s Lunar 24 mission) that someone has performed a lunar sample return mission.
Chang’e 6 is a follow-up lunar sample return mission slated to launch in 2023. Although this is apparently a backup of Chang’e 5, it will head towards the lunar south pole at the search for samples instead of returning to Mons Rümker if Chang’e 5 is successful.