[ad_1]
A Chinese spacecraft carrying rocks and soil from the Moon has begun its journey back to Earth, the official Xinhua news agency reported on Sunday, putting China on track to become the first country to recover lunar samples with success since the 1970s.
The engines of the Chang’e 5 probe ignited 230 kilometers (143 miles) from the lunar surface early on Sunday Beijing time, before shutting down after 22 minutes with the spacecraft on its way toward Earth, Xinhua said, citing to a China National. Space management statement.
A successful landing in Inner Mongolia would make China the third country to have recovered lunar samples after the United States and the Soviet Union. The plan was to collect 4.4 pounds (2 kilograms) of samples, although how much was actually collected has not been revealed.
Chang’e 5 was launched on November 24 and a lander landed on the Moon on December 1. The mission was expected to last around 23 days in total. The Chang’e 5 spacecraft, named after the mythical Chinese goddess of the Moon, left the Moon at 15:10 GMT Thursday (8:40 p.m. IST Thursday), the Chinese space agency said.
A module carrying lunar rocks and soil was put into orbit by a powerful thrust motor, authorities said of the mission that landed on the moon Tuesday. Video footage from China’s state broadcaster CCTV showed the probe lifting off the moon’s surface in a burst of bright light. The space agency said that “before lift-off, the Chinese flag was raised on the surface of the moon.”
He added that this was the first time that China managed to take off from an alien body. The module then must undergo the delicate operation of connecting with the part of the spacecraft that will bring the specimens back to Earth, the official Xinhua news agency reported. Scientists hope the samples will help them learn about the Moon’s origins, formation and volcanic activity on its surface.
© Thomson Reuters 2020
Is the MacBook Air M1 the portable beast of a laptop you’ve always wanted? We talked about this on Orbital, our weekly tech podcast, which you can subscribe to via Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, or RSS, download the episode, or just hit the play button below.
