China's
Chang'e-5 spacecraft successfully landed on the near side of the moon
late Tuesday and sent back images, the China National Space
Administration (CNSA) announced. At
11:11 p.m., the spacecraft landed at the preselected landing area near
51.8 degrees west longitude and 43.1 degrees north latitude, said the
CNSA. Photo
taken at Beijing Aerospace Control Center (BACC) in Beijing on Dec. 1,
2020 shows the landing process of Chang'e-5 spacecraft. (Xinhua/Jin Liwang)
On Nov. 24, China launched the Chang'e-5 spacecraft, comprising an orbiter, a lander, an ascender and a returner. At
10:57 p.m. Tuesday, the lander-ascender combination of Chang'e-5, from
about 15 km above the lunar surface, started a powered descent with a
variable thrust engine ignited. Its relative vertical velocity to the
moon was lowered from 1.7 km per second to zero. The probe was adjusted and approached the lunar surface during the descent. After
automatically detecting and identifying obstacles, the probe selected
the site and touched down on the north of the Mons Rumker in Oceanus
Procellarum, also known as the Ocean of Storms, on the near side of the
moon. During the landing process, the cameras aboard the lander took images of the landing area, said the CNSA. Under
ground-control, the lander carried out a series of status checks and
settings, preparing for around 48 hours of work on the surface of the
moon. Scientific
instruments installed on the lander include cameras to survey the
landing site and sampling area, an infrared spectrometer to detect the
material composition of the sampling area, and equipment to probe
subsurface structure. Chang'e-5
is the world's first moon-sample mission in more than 40 years, and
Chinese space engineers have made elaborate plans for possible
challenges ahead, said Peng Jing, deputy chief designer of the Chang'e-5
probe from the China Academy of Space Technology under the China
Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation. "We
designed two methods for the spacecraft to collect samples. One is to
sample the lunar surface, and the other is to drill underground. The two
methods could increase the chance of getting more diverse samples,"
said Peng. About
2 kg of samples are expected to be collected and sealed in a container.
Then the ascender will take off and dock with the orbiter-returner
combination in orbit. After the samples are transferred to the returner,
the ascender will separate from the orbiter-returner. According
to Peng, Chang'e-5 will carry out an unmanned rendezvous and docking in
a lunar orbit around 380,000 km away, a first in the history of space
exploration. The
orbiter is expected to carry the returner back to Earth. The returner
is scheduled to reenter the atmosphere and land at Siziwang Banner in
north China's Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region. Lin
Yangting, a researcher with the Institute of Geology and Geophysics
under the Chinese Academy of Sciences, said lunar soil is like a book
hiding the secrets about the sun, Earth and the moon. Researching lunar
soil could lead to better understanding of the solar system and Earth. The
mission will help promote China's science and technology development,
and lay an important foundation for China's future manned lunar landing
and deep space exploration, said Pei Zhaoyu, deputy director of the
Lunar Exploration and Space Program Center of the CNSA. "Domestic
and overseas scientists will all have a chance to get the lunar samples
to be brought back by Chang'e-5 for research," Pei added.
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