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Photo provided by the China National Space Administration (CNSA) shows the Chinese national flag deployed by the Chang’e-5 spacecraft on the moon on December 4, 2020. (CNSA photo)
China’s National Space Administration released images on Friday showing the Chinese national flag deployed by the Chang’e-5 probe on the moon.
The images were taken by a panoramic camera installed on the spacecraft’s lander-ascender combination, before the elevator departed from the moon with lunar samples late Thursday.
Photo provided by the China National Space Administration (CNSA) shows the view from the Chang’e-5 spacecraft to the moon on December 4, 2020. (CNSA photo)
In one of the images, a robotic arm to collect lunar samples can be seen next to the flag.
China’s Chang’e-5 probe was launched on November 24, and its lander-ascender combination landed north of Mons Rumker in Oceanus Procellarum, also known as the Ocean of Storms, on the near side of the moon on December 1.
After the samples were collected and sealed, the Chang’e-5 elevator took off from the lunar surface late Thursday and is expected to carry out the unmanned rendezvous and dock with the orbiter-returner in lunar orbit, a unprecedented feat.
Chang’e-5 is one of the most complicated and challenging missions in Chinese aerospace history and the world’s first lunar champion mission in more than 40 years.
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