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A Chinese probe on Sunday transferred rocks collected from the moon to an orbiter with a view to returning samples to Earth for the first time in nearly 45 years, the country’s space agency said.
The Chang’e lander cargo capsule – named after a mythical Chinese moon goddess – docked to a remote-controlled spacecraft orbiting the moon on Sunday at 5:42 a.m. local time (9:42 p.m. GMT / UTC Saturday), state media reported.
A 2 kilogram (4.4 pound) container of rock was moved to the orbiter 30 minutes later.
China’s National Space Administration released a photo taken by the orbiter showing the rocket from the ascension stage approaching for a rendezvous.
The Xinhua News Agency said it was China’s first “lunar orbit rendezvous and docking.”
A simulated image of the ascender of the Chang’e-5 spacecraft taking off from the lunar surface
The capsule carrying the rock samples is expected to land in the Inner Mongolia region in mid-December and if successful, China will be the third country after the United States and the former Soviet Union to bring moon rocks to Earth.
These will be the first fresh samples of the lunar surface obtained by scientists from the Soviet Luna 24 probe in 1976.
Discover the mysteries of the moon
Scientists hope the Chang’e-5 samples will help them learn more about the origins of the Moon and the volcanic activity on its surface.
The Chang’e-5 was launched 12 days ago from Wenchang Spaceport on Hainan Island. The lander reached the moon on Tuesday and began collecting rock samples a day later before taking off from the lunar surface on Thursday.
The departure of the moon was another first for China – the first lift-off of a Chinese craft from an alien body.
China has launched a series of increasingly ambitious space missions, including a probe en route to Mars and the development of a reusable space plane.
Plans include a human’s return to the moon five decades after the American astronauts landed.
China also wants to build its own space station by 2022 and is working to send an exploration mission to Jupiter by 2029.
mm / sms (AFP, AP, dpa)
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