Tech & Science The Chinese Chang'e 5 probe landed on the Moon

© STR AFP / Archives Takeoff of the Long-March 5 rocket, carrying the Chang'e-5 lunar module, from the Wenchang space center, in the southern China, November 24, 2020.

The Chinese Chang'e 5 probe, intended to collect samples of lunar rocks, landed "successfully" on the Moon on Tuesday, the news agency said official China new.

A big leap for the Chinese space program: the Chang'e 5 probe landed "successfully" on the Moon on Tuesday, December 1, a crucial mission to send astronauts to the lunar star by 2030.

This mission is the new stage of the Chinese space program, which had struck a big blow, at the beginning of 2019, by landing a machine on the far side of the Moon, a world first.

China prepares moon probe to bring back lunar rocks

China is preparing to launch an unmanned spacecraft 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 United States and the Soviet Union in the 1960s and 1970s. The Chinese probe will collect two kilograms (4.5 pounds) of surface material in a previously unexplored area known as Oceanus Procellarum -- or "Ocean of Storms" -- which consist of a vast lava plain, according to the science journal Nature.

The Chinese Lunar Exploration Program (CLEP; Chinese : 中国探月; pinyin: Zhōngguó Tànyuè), also known as the Chang ' e Project ( Chinese : 嫦娥工程; pinyin: Cháng ' é Gōngchéng)

If the Chang ’ e - 5 probe ’s mission is successful, not only will it mark a major accomplishment for Chinese space flight, it will also return with the first samples taken from the lunar surface in 44 years.

>> To read: Why China wants to bring lunar samples back to Earth

Named after a moon goddess according to Chinese mythology, the Chang'e 5 probe left Earth on Tuesday, November 24. The mission should make it possible to collect around two kilos of moon rocks, in particular by digging the ground up to two meters deep.

These samples will be taken from a much younger geological area than during previous Soviet and American missions. They should make it possible to add additional pieces to the great puzzle of the history of the Moon. The return of the rocks to Earth should take place in early or mid-December.

A four-part module

The Chang'e 5 probe "landed successfully late Tuesday on the far side of the moon," the official China New news agency reported. For its part, public television CCTV broadcast a short sequence showing the 8.2-ton space module landing on lunar soil. Mission officials applauded in front of control screens.

Chinese spacecraft sets off on Moon sample quest

The robotic Chang'e-5 mission aims to return the first lunar rocks to Earth in more than 40 years.Its robotic Chang'e-5 spacecraft departed the Wenchang launch complex on a Long March 5 rocket early on Tuesday morning local time, and if successful should return to Earth in mid-December.

BEIJING (Sputnik) - China ’s Chang ’ e 5 lunar lander and ascent vehicle have successfully detached from the orbital module and are getting ready to land on the Moon in order to collect soil samples, the Lunar Exploration and China 's Chang ' e 5 robotic lunar probe separated into the orbiter re-entry

An animation image by the Beijing Aerospace Control Center (BACC) shows how China ‘s Chang ’ e - 5 probe performed braking for the second time at 20:23pm Sunday (Beijing Time), according to the Orbiter continues circling the moon until lander and ascending craft return from moon ’s surface.

The Chang'e 5 module is made up of four parts: an orbiter (which will remain in lunar orbit), a lander (which will land on the Moon), an ascent module (from the ground to the lunar orbit) and a capsule ( back to Earth).

>> To read: China, United States, Emirates… At full throttle in the race to the planet Mars

This mission is the first attempt to bring back lunar rocks since the uninhabited mission Luna 24, successfully led by the ex - USSR in 1976.

But unlike the Soviet program, where the probe carried out the Moon-Earth path directly after collecting the samples, China will use a much more difficult method. The rocks will first be placed in the ascent module (which will have to return to lunar orbit), before being transferred to the capsule back to Earth.

The United States also reported samples during the Apollo 17 manned mission (1972), but these were collected directly by the astronauts.

Billions invested in its

China launches Moon probe to bring back lunar rocks

China on Tuesday launched an unmanned spacecraft 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 United States and the Soviet Union in the 1960s and 1970s. The Chinese probe will collect two kilograms (4.5 pounds) of surface material in a previously unexplored area known as Oceanus Procellarum -- or "Ocean of Storms" -- which consist of a vast lava plain, according to the science journal Nature.

China 's first moon lander Chang ' e 3 carrying the Yutu rover successfully touched down on the lunar surface Saturday (Dec. China has landed its first robotic lander on the moon , a historic lunar arrival that makes the country only the third nation to make a soft- landing on Earth's celestial neighbor.

China 's Chang ' e - 5 spacecraft successfully entered the orbit of a natural Earth satellite yesterday and is preparing to land , as reported by representatives of the Chinese National Space The probe engine was launched after it reached 400 km from the surface of the moon and was stopped after 17 minutes.

space program This ambitious operation will also allow the Asian giant to test new technologies, crucial in order to send astronauts to the lunar star by 2030.

This is not the first time that China launches a machine towards the lunar star as part of the Chang'e program. It has already landed two small remote-controlled robots (the "Jade Rabbits") there in 2013 and 2019.

The launch of Chang'e 5 was initially scheduled for 2017. But the same year, a firing from the Longue-Marche 5 rocket, essential for the propulsion of the probe, had led to its postponement.

China is investing billions of euros in its space program, to catch up with Europe, Russia and the United States. It sent its first astronaut into space in 2003. The Asian giant also just completed in June the constellation of its Beidou navigation system, rival of the American GPS. He also plans to assemble a large space station by 2022.

With AFP