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China planted its flag on the moon during a space expedition to collect moon rocks.
The Communist nation is the second country after the United States to deposit its national flag in the airless atmosphere of the moon.
American astronaut Buzz Aldrin planted the first flag during the manned Apollo 11 mission in 1969, and the United States left five more flags there in subsequent missions until 1972.
The China mission was not manned by astronauts, so the distinctive red flag was deployed by the Chang’e-5 ground vehicle before takeoff to return to earth.
The state Global Times The paper said the milestone was a reminder of the “excitement and inspiration” felt during the US Apollo missions.
China’s Chang’e 5 space module left the moon this week after completing its mission to collect 2kg of moon rock samples.
It is the first time in 44 years that lunar samples have been returned to Earth, and researchers hope it will provide new insights into the moon’s volcanic activity.
China’s ambitious space program also includes building its own space station by 2022 and sending an exploration mission to Jupiter by 2029.
The space module landed on the moon on Tuesday and began collecting rock samples on Wednesday, state media reported.
The lander is expected to connect with a spacecraft that will take it out of lunar orbit and bring it back to earth in the coming days.
The only other countries to have collected moon rocks are the United States and the Soviet Union.
The US Apollo missions brought back about 380 kg of moon rock.
The Soviet Union collected 300 g.
Chang’e 5, named after the Chinese moon goddess, was launched in late November from the Wenchang spaceport on the southern Chinese island of Hainan.
Chinese probes have already successfully landed on the moon twice before.
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