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DAILY NEWS ANALYSIS

  • 21 December, 2020

  • 4 Min Read

CHANG’E-5 PROBE

CHANGE-5 PROBE

Chinese spacecraft carrying rocks and soil from the moon has begun its journey back to Earth, putting China on course to become the first country to successfully retrieve lunar samples since the 1970s.

About the Chang'e-5 probe:

  • The probe is named after the mythical Chinese moon goddess.
  • The rocket is comprised of four parts: an orbiter, a returner, an ascender and a lander.
  • The objective of the mission is to bring back lunar rocks, the first attempt by any nation to retrieve samples from the moon in four decades.
  • If successful, China will be only the third country to have retrieved samples from the moon, following the U.S. and the Soviet Union in the 1960s and 1970s.
  • This will help scientists learn about the moon’s origins, formation and volcanic activity on its surface.

Identified location for the collection of samples:

  • The Chinese probe will collect 2 kg of surface material from a previously unexplored area known as Oceanus Procellarum — or “Ocean of Storms” — which consist of a vast lava plain.
  • The Chang'e-5 mission is expected to realize four "firsts" in China's space history:
    • The first time for a probe to take off from the surface of the Moon.
    • The first time to automatically sample the lunar surface.
    • The first time to conduct unmanned rendezvous and docking in lunar orbit.
    • The first time to return to Earth with lunar soil samples in escape velocity.

Source: TH


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