The Long March-5 Y5 rocket, carrying the Chang鈥檈-5 lunar probe, is seen before taking off from Wenchang Space Launch Center, in Wenchang, Hainan province, China Nov. 24, 2020. (Photo by TINGSHU WANG / Reuters)
BEIJING 鈥� China successfully landed a spacecraft on the moon鈥檚 surface on Tuesday in a historic mission to retrieve lunar surface samples, Chinese state media reported.
China launched its Chang鈥檈-5 probe on Nov. 24. The uncrewed mission, named after the mythical Chinese goddess of the moon, aims to collect lunar material to help scientists learn more about the moon鈥檚 origins.
The mission will attempt to collect 2 kg (4-1/2 lbs) of samples in a previously unvisited area in a massive lava plain known as Oceanus Procellarum, or 鈥淥cean of Storms鈥�.
If the mission is completed as planned, it would make China the third nation to have retrieved lunar samples after the United States and the Soviet Union.
The lander vehicle that touched down on the moon鈥檚 surface was one of several spacecraft deployed by the Chang鈥檈-5 probe.
Upon landing, the lander vehicle is supposed to drill into the ground with a robotic arm, then transfer its soil and rock samples to an ascender vehicle that would lift off and dock with an orbiting module.
State broadcaster CCTV said it would start collecting samples on the lunar surface in the next two days. The samples would be transferred to a return capsule for the trip back to Earth, landing in China鈥檚 Inner Mongolia region.
China made its first lunar landing in 2013. In January last year, the Chang鈥檈-4 probe touched down on the far side of the moon, the first space probe from any nation to do so.