The Chang’e 5 mission to the Moon was short but extremely successful . The Chinese probe has return to Earth pack 1.731 kilograms ( 3.816 British pound ) of lunar cloth , the first sample distribution return from the Moon in 44 years .
The sample land in Mongolia on December 16 at 1:59 am local time . It came back to earth using the tested and testedskip reentry technique – just like the Apollo missions – where the investigation bounced on the atmosphere once like a pebble on a pond before reentry .
The deputation got to the lunar surface onDecember 1 , landing near Mons Rümker in the vast basaltic plane ( the dour parts of the near - side ) of Oceanus Procellarum , the Ocean of Storms . As shortly as it got onto the ground it started working on collecting samples from the surface and just below . It was packed in a capsule and send off back to orbit on December 3 .
The rising vehicle carried samples and rendezvous with the orbital part of the mission , before coming back to Earth after a week in circum - lunar domain . The winner of the mission make China the third nation to receive lunar samples after the US and the ( at the time ) Soviet Union .
The samples collected will importantly dilate our geological understanding of the Moon . The samples fetch back from the Apollo programme range from between 3.1 to 4.4 billion years old . The orbit where Chang’e 5 shore is much younger , perhaps around 1.21 billion years old . Studying these samples will better age estimation for lunar regions , as well as idea on the ages of regions on other planet .
About three - quarters of the sample distribution collected comes from the dirt around the lander , with the remaining quarter obtain by drilling underground . The samples have been transferred to specialized science lab for depth psychology , but it is expect that some of the incredible haul will be put on public showing according to an officialpress statement . The destination is to inspire the next genesis .
Chang’e 5 was designed to manoeuver for a limited time as long as it stayed in sun . The Lunar dark , which go 14 days , is extremely frigid and the lander was not equip to resist those incredibly humbled temperatures .
On the other side of the Moon , the mission predecessorChang’e 4 – well equipped for the temperature difference between nighttime and sidereal day – is continuing its mission .
China is expected to launch Chang’e 6 , another sample distribution return mission , in either 2023 or 2024 . This deputation is expected to land somewhere near the south pole of the Moon .
