China launches lander to the moon to bring rocks back to earth – IT Pro – News

China has sent a lander to the moon. Chang’e 5 was launched on Monday evening Dutch time with a Lange March 5. The spaceship must retrieve rocks from the moon and return them to Earth.

The Long March rocket took off at 9:30 PM Dutch time from the Wenchang launch site in southern China. It was one of the few times that a Chinese launch could be watched live. Normally, China does not officially announce launches until successful. Chang’e 5 goes to the moon to collect moon rocks and return them to Earth. So far, only two countries have managed to return lunar samples to Earth. America did that during the Apollo missions, and Russia with the robotic Luna landings.

The spacecraft is to be put into orbit in three days. A landing attempt will probably take place sometime in the following days, but the Chinese space agency is not making any statements about that. The lander is expected to collect soil samples for about two days. It would then be about two kilos of moonstone. The lander will then take off and dock again with the rest of the spacecraft that continues to fly in a lunar orbit all along. Then the capsule returns to Earth. The European space agency ESA plays a role in this; that will help China to track the vessel. China already practiced with one in 2014 re-entrymaneuver from the moon.

Chang’e 5 lands near Mons Rümker, on the western side of the moon. There are relatively young moon rocks there. These are, for example, younger than the moon rocks collected during the American Apollo missions. With the stones, scientists hope to learn more about the age of the moon and the formation of volcanic regions. From this they can learn more about the history of other celestial bodies in the solar system.

China has become increasingly interested in a moon program in recent years. In 2012, the country was the third country in the world to put a vehicle on the moon. Lander Chang’e and rover Yutu made a soft landing and collected information about the lunar surface for months. At the beginning of 2019, China also knew land a spacecraft on the back of the moon. China says all those missions are preparations for a mission with astronauts, to take place sometime in the future.

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