Published : 24/11/2024

In the early hours of November 24, 2020, the "Chang'e 5" probe was launched from the Wenchang Space Launch Center in Hainan, marking China's first extra-terrestrial object sampling return mission.

The Chang'e 5 consists of four parts: an orbiter, a returner, a lander, and an ascender, divided into 15 subsystems, making it one of the most complex spacecraft systems developed by China.

The core mission of Chang'e 5 is to work on the lunar surface and collect about 2 kilograms of lunar soil samples within about two days and bring them back to Earth.

According to the plan, Chang'e 5 would go through multiple stages such as launch into orbit, Earth-moon transfer, near-moon braking, circumlunar flight, landing descent, and then finally landing in the northeast region of the Oceanus Procellarum on the moon.

After completing the lunar surface operations, Chang'e 5 was planned to undergo stages including lunar surface ascent, lunar orbit rendezvous and docking with sample transfer, circumlunar waiting, Earth-moon transfer, re-entry, and finally the returner would land in Siziwang Banner, Inner Mongolia.

After the mission was completed, China became the third country in the world, after the United States and the Soviet Union, to achieve and return lunar samples.