China's Chang'e-5 Lands on the Moon - Historic Lunar Mission

Official news sources from China confirm the successful touchdown of the Chang’e-5 robotic lunar lander, designed to collect lunar rock specimens for their return to Earth. The spacecraft began its journey on November 23rd and entered lunar orbit on November 28th. Following this, the lander was deployed on November 30th, and the China National Space Administration (CNSA) announced today that it successfully reached the lunar surface at approximately 10 AM EST.

The Chang’e-5 mission represents only the third instance of a lunar sample-return endeavor – previously achieved by the United States and the Soviet Union. The landing site is located on the near side of the moon, the hemisphere consistently facing Earth due to the moon’s synchronous orbit.

The mission now operates under a strict timeframe due to the absence of a heating system on the lander, preventing it from surviving the extreme cold of the lunar night. Consequently, the collection of samples must be completed within the next 14 Earth days, with a projected return landing around December 16th or 17th. This timing would allow Chinese scientists to begin analyzing the lunar rocks in conjunction with the TC Sessions: Space event.

This sample-return effort is occurring alongside other extraterrestrial missions. A probe, built by Lockheed Martin, successfully obtained samples from asteroid Bennu last month and is scheduled to begin its return journey in March. Additionally, NASA’s Mars sample-return mission is underway, utilizing the Perseverance rover launched in July.