01-12-2020 | 15:42 PM
China’s Chang'e-5 Lunar Mission
Recently, China launched the Change-5 Lunar Mission to carry back rock samples from the moon from its previously unexplored portions.
Change-5 is the first probe to land at the far side of the moon.
As the rotation and revolution time of the moon is the same, only one side of the moon is continuously apparent to the earth. The other half of the moon to date remains unexplored and is considered the other side of the moon.
About Change-5 Mission:
The mission is named after the goddess of the Chinese moon. It was launched from the Long March-5 carrier rocket, the largest carrier rocket in China.
If the mission succeeds, China will become the third country to gather lunar samples from the USA and the Soviet Union.
The change-5 consists of a lander, a lunar orbiter and a probe of ascent. It has a coring drill, a robotic arm, and a sample chamber to position the samples gathered.
It is also fitted with radar penetration, sensor and spectrometer. The spacecraft is scheduled to return to Earth by 15 December 2020.
When the spacecraft enters the orbit of the earth, a pair of vehicles will be placed on the surface of the moon, namely the ascending and the lander.
Other Lunar Samples
Previously, the Apollo 11 spacecraft obtained lunar samples. The rocks found on the moon are older than those found on the surface.
In 1970, Luna 16 of the Soviet Union carried 101 grammes of rocks back from the moon. Other Soviet missions, such as Luna 24, later gathered samples weighing 170 grammes
