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KOMPAS.com – Spacecraft China, Chang’e 5, has sent the first color photo of the surface Month.
The vehicle captures a panoramic view that stretches from the surface of the Moon just below its feet to the horizon.
After landing on Tuesday (1/12/2020), Chang’e 5 began collecting rock and dust to be sent back to Earth.
The samples will be sent to an orbiting spacecraft to take them to Earth. This process can occur as early as Thursday (3/12/2020).
Also read: China’s Chang’e 5 Mission Successfully Lands on the Moon
Chang’e 5 is the third Chinese spacecraft to make a Moon landing in seven years.
The two previous rides – Chang’e 3 and Chang’e 4 – laid down static landers and small rovers.
However, this latest effort is much more complex.
A “stack” spacecraft weighing 8.2 tonnes launched from Earth just over a week ago. The multi-module aircraft then split in half after reaching lunar orbit over the weekend.
Half of the plane, consisting of landers and climbing vehicles, descends to the surface month.
Meanwhile, the other half, namely the vehicle that drove the plane and the vehicle to re-enter the atmosphere, remains airborne.
The lander used its tools, including a shovel and drill, to identify and collect the best lunar samples.
After this operation is completed, the collected materials will be thrown into the climbing vehicle towards the aircraft components that are airborne.
The rock and soil samples were then handed over to the shepherd vehicle and the vehicle reentered for the return trip.
It’s 44 years since rock and dust were last brought back from the Moon.
Nearly 400 kilograms were taken by the US Apollo astronaut and the Soviet landing robot Luna.
But all of these samples are very old, that is, over three billion years old.
The ingredients that Chang’e-5 will bring home should be very different.
The mission targets a high volcanic area called Mons Rümker. Samples from this location may be no more than 1.2 or 1.3 billion years old, and, as such, will provide additional insight into the geological history of the Moon.
Also read: Historical Mission, China Launches Change 5 to Collect and Return Moon Samples
The samples will also allow scientists to more accurately calibrate the “chronometer” they use to calculate the surface ages of the sun’s closest planets in the Solar System.
This is done by counting craters (the more craters, the older the surface), but that depends on the exact dating of a number of locations, and the Apollo and Soviet samples are key. Chang’e-5 will offer further data points.
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