The space capsule landed: China reports that the mission to the moon was successful

For the first time in more than four decades, a Chinese space probe has brought lunar rocks to Earth. After his successful mission, he landed in Mongolia.

by Ruth Kircher, ARD Beijing studio, currently. in Cologne

The Chang’e 5 lunar probe landed on a parachute in the snowy steppe of Inner Mongolia in northern China, state media reported. The capsule was recovered that night from rough terrain. It should be in good condition, he said on state television. It is the first time in 44 years that rock samples have been brought to Earth from the Moon.

Next objective: landing on the moon

After the United States and the Soviet Union, China is the third country to have succeeded in such a mission. The Chang’e 5, named after the Chinese goddess of the moon, took off in November and landed on the moon on December 1. The mission with complicated docking maneuvers in lunar orbit was one of the most difficult in China’s space history and is also seen as preparation for a planned Chinese manned moon landing.

Scientists are excited

Researchers eagerly await the moon rocks that Chang’e 5 brought back. It is said to be a few billion years younger than rock samples collected by the Americans and the Soviets in the 1960s and 1970s. Researchers hope gain new knowledge about the history of the moon and other celestial bodies in the solar system. The Chinese lunar mission also has a political dimension for the People’s Republic of China. The Global Times newspaper reports that some rock samples will be brought to Hunan Province as a tribute to the founder of the state, Mao Zedong, who came from the southern region of China.