Landing in the “ocean of storms” – China is flying to the moon and wants to bring the rocks back to earth

During the flight, the rock samples are expected to be returned to earth for the first time in more than four decades. The Long March 5 rocket took off Tuesday morning, local time (Monday evening CET) from the Wenchang space station on the southern Chinese island of Hainan. The spacecraft, named after the Chinese moon goddess “Chang’e 5”, is expected to take a lander to the moon on Sunday, which will collect rocks and drill samples.

If the return was successful, China would be only the third space nation, after the United States and the Soviet Union in the 1960s and 1970s, to succeed in such a project. The spacecraft is expected to land in the volcanic area named after the German astronomer Karl Rümker (1788-1862). It is found in the “ocean of storms” in the upper left of the earth side of the moon.

Complicated mission

The mission is considered one of the most complicated that Chinese space travel has ever undertaken: for the first time, a Chinese ascent will restart from the moon, take rock samples and perform a docking maneuver in the orbit of the Earth’s satellite before the capsule in return you fly back to earth.

The 8,200 kilogram spacecraft consists of four modules: the orbiter with the return capsule and the lander with the ascent stage. After touching the lunar surface, the lander will use a long arm to collect about two kilograms of moon rock and samples from wells up to two meters deep and store them in a chamber.

After ascent and docking with the orbiter, the rock samples must be loaded into the capsule, which then returns to Earth. The spacecraft will land in the Siziwang flag in Inner Mongolia on December 16 or 17. Scientists are eagerly awaiting the samples, because no rocks from recent lunar history have yet been brought to earth for study.

New knowledge on volcanic activity

The “ocean of storms” is only 1.2 million years old. Moon rocks collected by the United States and the Soviet Union, on the other hand, are significantly older, at 3.1 and 4.4 million years old. The larger lunar plane got its name from the earlier assumption that its appearance with the waning crescent meant stormy weather.

The researchers hope the samples will provide important new insights into volcanic activity and the moon’s history. The US Apollo missions brought back some 380 kilograms of moon rock. The Soviet Union collected a total of 300 grams – the last time with the unmanned “Luna 24” mission in 1976, when about 170 grams of lunar dust was brought to earth.

The Chinese lunar flight occurs 51 years after the first manned US moon landing on July 21, 1969, when Neil Armstrong and Edwin “Buzz” Aldrin were the first to step onto the surface of Earth’s satellite. The United States took astronauts to the moon six times, the last of which was “Apollo 17” in December 1972.

Problems with the engines

It is only the second regular flight of China’s 800-plus-ton “Long March 5” rocket after one such type launched the “Tianwen-1” Mars probe in July. Initially there were problems with the engine of the new heavy-duty rocket, which had resulted in the lunar mission being postponed for three years.

“Chang’e 5” is supposed to land on the moon at dawn and stay on earth for one lunar day – two weeks. The spaceship does not have to be equipped with special heating devices to withstand the extremely cold temperatures of the moonlit night. The complexity of the three-week flight is also seen as preparation for possible manned moon landings in the future.

China is carrying out an ambitious space program with missions to the Moon and Mars and the construction of its own space station. In January 2019, China was the first space nation to land with “Chang’e 4” on the relatively unexplored side of the moon. A rover was abandoned to continue exploring the surface.

SDA / chk

Posted today at 01:10