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The robotic spacecraft, named Chang’e 5 after the mythical Chinese goddess of the moon, will spend two days on the moon collecting soil and rock samples, guided by the field mission control, reported the Chinese official news agency Xinhua.
This is the first attempt to collect rocks from the moon by any country since the 1970s.
The probe’s robotic arm will pick up rocks from the surface and a drill will dig into the ground to collect soil. The samples, which are expected to weigh around 2 kilograms (4.5 pounds), will be sealed in a container in the spacecraft.
If successful, the mission will only make China the third country to collect lunar samples, after the United States and the former Soviet Union decades ago.
United States Astronauts reported 382 kilograms (842 pounds) of rock and soil between 1969 and 1972 during the Apollo program, while the Soviet Union collected 170.1 grams (6 ounces) of samples in 1976.
When the samples are returned to Earth, scientists will be able to analyze the structure, physical properties and material composition of the lunar soil, the Chinese space agency said.
The mission can help answer questions such as how long the moon has been volcanically active indoors and when its magnetic field – key to protecting all life from solar radiation – has dissipated.
A March-5 long rocket carrying the Chang’e-5 spacecraft lifted off from the Wenchang spacecraft launch site on Hainan Island, off the south coast of China, on November 24.
The spacecraft landed on a previously unvisited area of the moon – a huge lava plain known as Oceanus Procellarum, or “Ocean of Storms.” This large dark spot, about 2,900 kilometers (1,800 miles) wide, could be a scar from a giant cosmic impact that created an ancient sea of magma, according to NASA.
The landing marks the third time that a Chinese lunar probe has successfully landed on the moon’s surface, the state-run Xinhua news agency reported.
CNN’s Jessie Yeung and Mitchell McCluskey contributed to this report.
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