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BEIJING – A Chinese spacecraft took samples of the lunar surface on Wednesday as part of a mission to return lunar rocks to Earth for the first time since the 1970s, the government said, adding a string of successes to the increasingly ambitious program. space of Beijing.
The Chang’e 5 probe landed on the Sea of Storms on the near side of the moon on Tuesday after it descended from an orbiter, China’s National Space Administration said. He released images of the barren landing site showing the lander’s shadow.
“Chang’e has collected lunar samples,” the agency said in a statement.
The spacecraft, launched on November 24 from the tropical island of Hainan, is the latest feat in a space program that sent China’s first astronaut into orbit in 2003. Beijing also has a spacecraft en route to Mars and ultimately aims to to land a human on the moon.
This week’s landing is “a historic step in China’s cooperation with the international community in the peaceful use of space,” said a spokesman for the foreign ministry, Hua Chunying.
“China will continue to promote international cooperation and the exploration and use of space in the spirit of working for the benefit of all humanity,” Hua said.
Plans call for the lander to spend two days drilling into the lunar surface and collecting 2 kilograms (4.4 lbs) of rock and debris. The spacecraft’s upper stage will be launched back into lunar orbit to transfer the samples to a capsule to be returned to Earth, where it will land in China’s northern prairies in mid-December.
If successful, it will be the first time scientists have obtained new lunar rock samples from the Soviet Union’s Luna 24 probe in 1976.
The samples are expected to be made available to scientists from other nations, although it is unclear how much access NASA will have due to U.S. government restrictions on cooperation with the Chinese military program.
From the rocks and debris, scientists hope to learn more about the moon, including its precise age, as well as greater knowledge of the other bodies in our solar system. Collecting samples, including asteroids, is an increasingly important goal of many space programs.
American and Russian space officials congratulated the Chinese program.
“Congratulations to China on the successful landing of Chang’e 5. It’s not an easy task,” NASA science mission chief Thomas Zurbuchen tweeted.
“When the samples collected on the Moon are returned to Earth, we hope that everyone will benefit from the opportunity to study this precious cargo that could advance the international scientific community.”
US astronauts reported 842 pounds (382 kilograms) of lunar samples from 1969 to 1972, some of which are still under analysis and experimentation.
Flight Chang’e 5 is China’s third successful lunar landing. Its predecessor, Chang’e 4, was the first probe to land on the little explored side of the moon.
Chinese space program officials said they envision future manned missions alongside robotic ones, possibly including a permanent research base. No history or other details have been announced.
The latest flight includes collaboration with the European Space Agency, which is helping to monitor the mission from Earth.
China’s space program proceeded more cautiously than the US-Soviet space race of the 1960s, marked by casualties and launch failures.
In 2003, China became the third country to send an astronaut into orbit alone after the Soviet Union and the United States. It launched a manned temporary space station in 2011 and a second in 2016.
China, along with its neighbors Japan and India, has also joined the growing rush to explore Mars. The Tianwen 1 probe launched in July is on its way to the red planet with a lander and a rover on board in search of water.
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