A Chinese unmanned spacecraft launched late last month has taken samples of the surface of the moon and has begun returning to Earth.
The capsule containing the sample will return in the middle of this month, and if successful, it will be the third country after the United States and the former Soviet Union.
According to the state-run China Central Television, the unmanned spacecraft "Chang'e 5", which landed on the moon on December 1, used a robot arm and a drill to collect samples of the surface and ground of the moon.
"Chang'e 5" took off from the moon after midnight on the 4th of Japan time, and the capsule containing the sample was handed over to the aircraft waiting in the orbit of the moon and returned to the earth in mid-December. I'm planning to do it.
If successful, it will be the third country after the United States and the former Soviet Union for the first time in 44 years.
China has made the lunar exploration plan an important pillar of space development, including the world's first successful landing of a spacecraft on the backside of the moon, which is said to be difficult to communicate with the earth last year.
Regarding the exploration of the moon, the United States is leading the construction plan of a new space station that orbits the moon, and Japan has announced that it will participate in the "Artemis program" to send astronauts to the moon again. Competition is accelerating.