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The China National Space Administration (CNSA) has announced that its Chang’e-5 space probe, designed to collect lunar samples and return them to Earth, has successfully landed on the near side of the moon.
Chinese state media reported that the spacecraft arrived at the preselected landing area on Tuesday and sent images to CNSA.
The spacecraft, composed of orbiter, lander, ascender and returner components, was launched a week ago.
CNSA said the Chang’e-5 spacecraft’s lander-ascender combination has begun a motorized descent about 15 kilometers above the lunar surface. They say the probe landed in the north of the region known as Mons Rumker in the Oceanus Procellarum, also called the Ocean of Storms, on the near side of the moon.
Under control on the ground, the lander carried out a series of status checks and settings, preparing for approximately 48 hours of work on the lunar surface.
The space agency said around 2 kilograms of samples should be collected and sealed in a container. Then the blocker will take off and dock with the orbiter-return-to-orbit combination. After the samples have been transferred to the return device, the blocker will separate from the return orbiter.
The orbiter is expected to report the return to Earth. The return is scheduled to re-enter the atmosphere and land at Siziwang Banner in the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region of northern China.
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