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the Chang’e 5 The return capsule containing lunar samples is headed to a Beijing laboratory for opening, with a research team eagerly awaiting their opportunity to begin studying the new moon samples.
Given the lunar exploration mission successChina’s space officials say the next step is to cooperate with scientists from other nations to analyze the lunar samples.
China is prepared to establish a request for lunar sample analysis, with a team of scientists from home and abroad organized to consider the requests for samples.
China on the moon! A history of Chinese lunar missions in pictures
Zhang Kejian, head of the China National Space Administration (CNSA), declared that Chang’e 5 was a success. The mission concluded China’s current three-step lunar exploration program of orbiting, landing and bringing in samples, which began in 2004, Chinese space officials said.
“Now that the returner from the Chang’e 5 probe has returned with lunar soil samples, an important next step is that we will carry out extensive cooperation with scientists from other countries to carry out in-depth studies of the lunar soil.” Zhang said. he said in an interview with China Central Television (CCTV).
Chang’e 5 laid the groundwork for China’s future manned deep space and lunar exploration efforts, which will include building a research base on the moon, if all goes according to plan.
“We look forward to cooperating with other countries to build the international lunar scientific research station, which could provide a shared platform for lunar scientific exploration and technological experiments,” said Pei Zhaoyu, deputy director of the CNSA’s Center for Space Program and Lunar Exploration, according to CCTV. .
Search and recovery teams
On Wednesday (December 16), the return capsule detached from the orbiter / returner Chang’e 5 under ground control while it was high above the Atlantic Ocean, according to the CNSA. The capsule entered Earth’s atmosphere and, after an aerodynamic deceleration, jumped again. Then the capsule reentered for a second aerodynamic deceleration.
The capsule’s parachute opened about 6 miles (10 kilometers) above the ground and the spacecraft descended into a predetermined area in Inner Mongolia. Search and recovery teams found him in no time.
An aerial team in helicopters detected the capsule using infrared cameras, while a ground team followed by SUV to reach the snow-covered landing site. Ground crews cordoned off the area, confirmed the landing coordinates, and set up a communication station to connect with the Beijing Aerospace Flight Control Center.
“We just measured the shape of the crater the returner landed in, which is part of the scientific data collection. Then the returner [put on a] ‘hot new layer’ to prevent the remaining propellant inside from freezing during transport to the Zhurihe airport, where the propellant will be expelled [the] returner, “said Cao Ruiqiang, space product assurance assistant, in a CCTV interview.
The Chang’e 5 capsule was loaded onto a truck and then transported by helicopter and plane to Beijing.
Related: We may be in a ‘golden age’ of sample return space missions
Lunar laboratory
Chang’e 5 was designed to bring back 4.4 pounds. (2 kilograms) of lunar samples. The mission consisted of four modules: an orbiter, a lander, an ascendant, and a return.
The multi-phase mission released on November 23. On December 1, its lander and ascendant combination landed north of Mons Rümker in Oceanus Procellarum, also known as the Ocean of Storms, on the near side of the moon.
In Beijing, CNSA will transfer the lunar materials to the Lunar Sample Laboratory at the National Astronomical Observatory (NAO) of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, a facility that has been specially built for the storage, processing and analysis of the samples.
“The biggest challenge is to open the sample pack, which is sealed in a vacuum environment. [on the moon]”Zhang Guangliang, chief designer of the Terrestrial Application System of the third phase of the China Lunar Exploration Project, said in a CCTV interview.” To address that, we have checked multiple times and designed a special process. We will unpack the samples in a vacuum environment and transfer them to a nitrogen environment for storage and processing. ”
Analysis methods
“The first thing we consider is to use some damage-free analysis methods as much as possible, such as observing the optical characteristics under a microscope and spectral measurement in the laboratory,” said Zhou Qin, also identified as chief designer of the Third Earth Application System phase of the China Lunar Exploration Project, in a CCTV interview.
“Of course, these measurements will be made and analyzed in a special environment, such as with high purity nitrogen, to minimize the impact of the Earth’s environment on the lunar samples,” Zhou said. “In addition, we will also do some chemical composition analysis, which will cause damage. We will do a thorough analysis and try to get more useful information with the least amount of sample.”
You can watch recently released videos focused on Chang’e 5’s return pod. here, here and here.
Leonard David is the author of the recently published book, “Moon Rush: The New Space Race” published by National Geographic in May 2019. David, a longtime writer for Space.com, has been reporting on the space industry for more than five decades. Follow us on Twitter @Spacedotcom and on Facebook. This version of the story posted on Space.com.
