Photos: China launches Moon probe to bring back lunar rocks

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Photos: China launches Moon probe to bring back lunar rocks

The probe is expected to land in late November and collect material during one lunar day

Published: November 24, 2020 08:11 AFP and compiled by Balaram Menon, Senior Web Editor

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The Long March-5 Y5 rocket, carrying the Chang'e-5 lunar probe — China on Tuesday launched an unmanned spacecraft to bring back lunar rocks - the first attempt by any nation to retrieve samples from the Moon in four decades. Image Credit: REUTER

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Copy of China_Moon_Mission_91297.jpg-9131d-1606190640154 — A Long March 5 rocket carrying the Chang'e-5 probe, named after the mythical Chinese moon goddess, blasted off from the Wenchang Space Center on the southern island province of Hainan at 4:30 am (2030 GMT Monday), the official Xinhua news agency reported. Image Credit: AP

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Copy of 084350-01-02-1606190635058 — Beijing is pouring billions into its military-run space programme, with hopes of having a crewed space station by 2022 and of eventually sending humans to the Moon. Image Credit: AFP

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Copy of 055007-01-02-1606190609383 — The mission's goal is to shovel up lunar rocks and soil to help scientists learn about the Moon's origins, formation and volcanic activity on its surface. Image Credit: AFP

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Copy of 2020-11-23T212916Z_1335092578_RC299K9LVTHW_RTRMADP_3_SPACE-EXPLORATION-CHINA-MOON-1606190647710 — The original mission, planned for 2017, was delayed due to an engine failure in the Long March 5 rocket. Image Credit: REUTERS

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Copy of China_Moon_Mission_94345.jpg-061af-1606190612428 — If successful, China will be only the third country to have retrieved samples from the Moon, following the United States and the Soviet Union in the 1960s and 1970s. Image Credit: AP

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Copy of 084341-01-02-1606190632168 — The Chinese probe will collect two kilograms (4.5 pounds) of surface material in a previously unexplored area known as Oceanus Procellarum - or "Ocean of Storms" - which consist of a vast lava plain, according to the science journal Nature. Image Credit: AFP

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Copy of 2020-11-23T211527Z_1519277634_RC299K9515K8_RTRMADP_3_SPACE-EXPLORATION-CHINA-MOON-1606190642658 — The probe is expected to land in late November and collect material during one lunar day - equivalent to around 14 Earth days. Image Credit: REUTERS

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Copy of China_Moon_Mission_45033.jpg-883c4-1606190617215 — The samples will then be returned to Earth in a capsule programmed to land in northern China's Inner Mongolia region in early December, according to US space agency NASA. Image Credit: AP

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Copy of 084335-01-02-1606190626705 — The mission is technically challenging and involves several innovations not seen during previous attempts at collecting moon rocks, said Jonathan McDowell, an astronomer at the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics. Image Credit: AFP

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Copy of AP23-11-2020_000051B-1606190621042 — "The US never did a robotic sample return. The Soviet one was very limited and could only land at certain restricted spots," McDowell told AFP. Image Credit: AP

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Copy of 084336-01-02-1606190629099 — "China's system will be the most flexible and capable robotic sample return system yet. Image Credit: AFP

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Copy of 2020-11-23T212702Z_172660936_RC299K9WVL2Y_RTRMADP_3_SPACE-EXPLORATION-CHINA-MOON-1606190644866 — A Chinese lunar rover landed on the far side of the Moon in January 2019, in a global first that boosted Beijing's ambitions to become a space superpower. Image Credit: REUTERS

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Copy of China_Moon_Mission_94345.jpg-061af [1]-1606190605433 — It was the second Chinese probe to land on the Moon, following the Yutu ("Jade Rabbit") rover mission in 2013. Image Credit: AP

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Copy of China_Moon_Mission_93246.jpg-1db09-1606190624171 — The latest Chang'e-5 probe is among a slew of ambitious targets set by Beijing, which include creating a super-powerful rocket capable of delivering payloads heavier than those NASA and private rocket firm SpaceX can handle, a lunar base, a permanently crewed space station, and a Mars rover. Image Credit: AP

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Copy of 2020-11-23T225724Z_1982556643_RC2A9K9USQLO_RTRMADP_3_SPACE-EXPLORATION-CHINA-MOON-1606190650855 — The Long March-5 Y5 rocket, carrying the Chang'e-5 lunar probe, takes off from Wenchang Space Launch Center, in Wenchang, Hainan province Image Credit: REUTERS

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