End of mission on the moon for the Chinese probe and return to Earth

An animation showing the Chang'E 5 rover on the moon.

-

Two days after landing on the Moon, the Chinese probe Chang'e 5 completed its mission on Thursday and is now heading towards Earth, according to images broadcast by public television CCTV.

Arrived on the Moon on Tuesday, the module left it Thursday at 11:10 p.m. Beijing time (3:10 p.m. GMT), the channel said.

Third country to report lunar samples

This is the first attempt to bring back lunar samples in more than 40 years.

A module carrying the samples activated a 3,000-ton thrust motor to orbit after a six-minute flight, the national space agency said.

If the return to Earth goes smoothly, China will become the third country to bring back samples, after the United States and the former USSR.

The last attempt was Soviet, with the uninhabited Luna 24 mission carried out successfully in 1976. This mission is the new stage of the Chinese space program, which struck a big blow in early 2019 by landing a machine on the far side of the Moon, a world first.

High Tech

China: The first locally produced nuclear reactor has just been launched

Planet

VIDEO.

A new conquest of the Moon… and a future trade war?

• China

• Moon

• Video

• Science

• Space

• Probe