China successfully launched its Chang’e-5 mission on Monday. Which is exciting and if all goes well, by the end of the week, it’ll orbit the moon to collect samples from the lunar surface. A first in decades and first for China.
Once the lander portion of the spacecraft is on the ground, it’ll have roughly 14 days to complete its mission. The reason for this is that it wasn’t made to deal with the extreme cold temperatures that come from the dark side of the moon. The portion of the moon China plans to land on is Mons Rümker. A volcanic plain much younger than the craters USA Apollo astronauts landed on in the 60s’ and 70s’. So from liftoff to return, the mission should take about a month.
Once complete, China hopes to bring back four pounds’ worth of samples to Earth. For some context, NASA’s astronauts brought back 842 pounds of Moon rock between 1969 and 1972. If successful, China will be the third nation in history to accomplish the feat. Joining only the US and the Soviet Union.
The New York Times highlighted in the past China usually waited until its craft had successfully made into orbit before making any announcement. But this time they broadcast the entire liftoff on television and YouTube, which showcases how confident they’ve become in their Space program. Just like the Chang’e-4 that came before it, Chang’e-5 has comprehensive plans for the Moon. China plans by the 2030s, to establish a research facility and human colony on the Moon, the same goal NASA’s Artemis program has. We’ll provide more information as this story develops. Lastly, for more tech news, NASA Discovers Water on the Sunlit Surface of the Moon.
China launches #ChangE5 spacecraft to collect, return samples from the #moon. It’s one of the most complicated and challenging missions in China’s aerospace history. #LunarProbe pic.twitter.com/rr24M3pSiC
— China Xinhua News (@XHNews) November 23, 2020
