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- China’s ambitious Chang’e 5 mission to the Moon successfully landed at its intended destination.
- The mission will take samples from the surface of the Moon and from a couple of meters below the surface.
- Those samples will eventually be sent to Earth for study.
NASA may be planning its own triumphant return to the lunar surface, but that doesn’t stop China from doing what it can to not only catch up with the US space program, but to surpass it in many ways. The latest test comes in the form of the new Chang’e 5 lunar lander, which recently launched from Earth and just made a soft landing on Earth’s pale neighbor.
The lander was just one part of the Chang’e 5 mission, which also includes an orbiter, ascendant and returner, according to CGTN. As with any mission to the moon, the Chinese space group has a number of things it would like to accomplish, but there is one goal it is clearly focused on: returning samples from the lunar surface to Earth.
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Collecting samples from the lunar surface is tricky on its own, but the Chang’e 5 mission is incredibly ambitious in its objectives. To start with, the lander will take a sample of the loose material on the surface, but then it will also take a sample from a couple of meters below the surface. The lander will drill through and take in that material, offering scientists on Earth the opportunity to see the differences between the material that is exposed to space today and the lunar soil that has been buried for millions or even billions of years.
The collection of samples is only the first part of a long process that finally ends with the shipment of lunar material to Earth. The samples, once collected, will be placed on the ascending vehicle. Once it’s packed and ready, the ascendant will lift off from the lunar surface and meet the orbiter and the returner. The one that returns, as you can imagine, will be the vehicle that will travel back to Earth with the samples. The plan, at the moment, is for the one who returns to land in Inner Mongolia.
Assuming all goes according to plan, the mission will bring China on par with the United States and the former Soviet Union, making it the third country on Earth to successfully collect lunar samples and return them to Earth. That’s a pretty big achievement, but anyone who has paid attention to China’s space exploration ambitions in recent years shouldn’t be surprised.
The country has caught up with the United States, quickly setting important goals that the United States has achieved long ago. At the same time, China will go head-to-head with the United States on new missions to Mars, and it is clear that the country wants to become the leader in space exploration.
Mike Wehner has reported on technology and video games for the past decade, covering the latest news and trends in virtual reality, wearable devices, smartphones, and future technology. Most recently, Mike served as a technology editor at The Daily Dot and has been featured in USA Today, Time.com, and in many other print and web media. His love of reporting is second only to his addiction to games.
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