Chang’e-5 is ready: it has taken off from the moon



[ad_1]

The Chinese probe Chang’e-5 has been working unexpectedly fast in the lava plain of the Stormarnas ocean on the moon. A full day before the appointed time, all the mineral samples have been collected and the probe has been lifted again, according to the state television company CCTV.

This marks the beginning of the next risky part of China’s prestigious project on the moon – for the landing craft to reconnect to the spacecraft, which is in orbit, and then send the samples back to Earth.

According to the television company, which refers to information from the Chinese space agency CNSA, Chang’e-5 left the surface of the moon at 4:10 p.m. Swedish time, reports the AFP news agency.

Exclusive club

If the return trip is successful, China will join the very exclusive club with nations that have rescued and brought here material from the moon, a society that has only included the United States and the then Soviet Union since the expeditions of the years. sixty and seventy.

Read more: Signs of life on Venus weaken after measurement errors are detected

Chang’e-5, named after the Chinese goddess of the moon, landed in the previously unexplored area of ​​Oceanus Procellarum (Ocean of Storms) on the moon on Tuesday.

China has posted videos of the landing, released by Western industry journalists, showing the probe flies flat, slows down and adjusts its position before fading into the gravel.

Part not visited

Experts have described the simple act of landing and taking off in a controlled manner on the moon as extra difficult challenges for those countries that want to call themselves space powers. Many have tried and many have failed, including the United States and the Soviet Union at first, and in recent years, among others, India and Israel.

Read more: The instrument creates oxygen from the atmosphere of Mars

If Chang’e-5 manages to withdraw and land in Inner Mongolia in mid-December, it will be the first time since 1976 that humanity has received minerals from the moon. These samples are also considered very interesting because they come from a part of the lunar surface not previously visited.



[ad_2]