Those steps forward include encapsulation of lunar samples, liftoff from the lunar surface, lunar-orbit-rendezvous- and docking-operations and re-entry at high speed back to Earth. “Technically, it is the most sophisticated and difficult exploration mission China will embark upon during the country’s 13th five-year plan, because of the many technological breakthroughs that China has not yet fully mastered,” Aliberti told SpaceNews. “I believe that the mission, if successful, will prove a new landmark achievement for China, with important implications for the international space community too,” said Marco Aliberti, a resident fellow of the European Space Policy Institute in Vienna and author of the 2015 book “When China Goes to the Moon…” ever returns to the moon.” China’s Chang’e-3 Moon lander as imaged by Yutu lunar rover. “I have no doubt that they will land humans on the moon and certainly before the U.S. There are lots of domes and small features that suggest a style of volcanism very different from the emplacement of mare lavas on the moon,” he said.Ĭhang’e-5 could help in sorting out how the eruptive processes evolved, how the chemistry has changed, how old the rocks are in this area, and what that indicates for the thermal history of the moon, Plescia said.Ĭhina developed a moon exploration strategy some time ago and has been implementing each step as planned, Plescia said. Mons Rümker is a relatively young volcanic site, Plescia said. Liu Jizhong, director of China Lunar Exploration and Space Engineering Center of the China National Space Administration, identified the Mons Rümker region within a part of the moon’s Oceanus Procellarum.
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A scoop sample has the potential to collect a wide range of fragment sizes,” Plescia said.Ĭhang’e-5’s landing site was announced during the Global Space Exploration Conference (GLEX) 2017 meeting June 6-8 in Beijing. “Cores are always good for stratigraphy and trying to understanding the geologic history of a site, but the largest fragment is always limited by the core diameter. Also, the Soviet Union selected moon landing spots that permitted a direct-return trajectory to the Earth, he said.Ĭhang’e-5’s sampling system allows both scoop samples and coring. The Soviets deposited the sample directly into the Earth-return capsule then lobbed the specimens from the moon a transfer in lunar orbit was not required. Plescia said that the mission design for Chang’e-5 is different from the approach taken by the Soviet Union’s Luna sample-return program. “For them, it’s the next step in their plan of demonstrating technology and increasing capabilities,” said Jeff Plescia, a planetary scientist at The Johns Hopkins University’s Applied Physics Laboratory in Laurel, Maryland.
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The lunar samples will be shot back to the Earth contained within the mission’s reentry module. That step involves docking in lunar orbit and transferring the moon material from the ascender into the reentry capsule. Then there’s the return leg of the Chang’e-5 mission, from the moon back to Earth. Also to be used is a mechanical arm to pick up pieces from the moon’s landscape. The primary task of collecting samples on the moon makes use of a drill to gather specimens beneath the lunar surface. The lander and ascender form a combination that will touchdown on the moon to conduct the robotic sample collection mission.
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In October 2014, the Chang’e 5-T1 probe carried out an eight-day circumlunar voyage that included the evaluation of critical reentry technology and a demonstration of techniques for hauling bits and pieces of the moon back to Earth.Īccording to China’s state-run news services, Chang’e-5 consists of four parts: the orbiter, ascender, lander, and Earth-reentry module. The country’s Chang’e-1 and -2 circled and charted the lunar surface in 20, respectively, with the Chang’e-3 spacecraft soft landing on the moon in December 2013, unleashing the wheeled Jade Rabbit rover to reconnoiter the lunar surface.