(Reuters) – A Chinese spacecraft carrying rocks and mud from China has begun returning to Earth, the official Xinhua news agency reported on Sunday, adding that China has become the first country to successfully obtain lunar samples since the 1970s.
Xinhua quoted China as saying that the engine on the Chang-5 probe was fired 230 km (143 miles) above the lunar surface early Sunday, Beijing time, Xinhua quoted China as saying. National Space Management Statement.
A successful landing in Inner Mongolia would make China the third country to receive lunar samples after the United States and the Soviet Union. The plan was to collect 2kg (4.4 lb) samples, although it was not immediately clear how much was collected.
The Chang-5 was launched on November 24 and a lander landed on the moon on December 1. The mission was expected to take about 23 days.
(Reporting by Tom Daly; Editing by Alex Richardson)
