China’s “Chang’e-5” probe has finished collecting moon samples

Beijing (Xinhua) China’s National Space Agency announced Thursday morning that China’s “Chang’e-5” probe has finished collecting samples from the moon and that the samples have been hermetically sealed inside the spacecraft.

The spacecraft landed north of Mons Romker in the “Oceanus Proslarum” area known as the Ocean of Storms, on the side near the moon on December 1 to complete China’s first sample return mission. an alien planet. It was launched on November 24.

The agency said the sampling process ended at 10:00 p.m. on Wednesday Beijing time after the spacecraft had worked for about 19 hours on the moon. The samples were stored in packaging inside the probe boarding vehicle as intended.

And the researchers had simulated the process of collecting samples in a lab using the data returned by the probe, which provided an important basis for the operation on the moon.

The lunar ground penetrating radar and other payloads installed on the landing craft conducted scientific exploration as planned and provided information for sample collection.

The probe has withstood temperatures above 100 degrees Celsius on the moon’s surface.

The probe implemented two methods of collecting samples on the moon, including using drilling rigs to collect samples below the surface and taking samples from the surface with a robotic arm. Various samples were taken from different sites.

The moon samples were hermetically sealed inside the spacecraft to ensure they were kept under vacuum and safe from the effects of the outside environment when they returned to Earth.

The Chang’e-5 probe has several payloads, including a landing camera, a panoramic camera, a radar to penetrate the lunar soil, and a spectrometer to study lunar minerals to explore the topography of the lunar surface and composition. mineral as well as the shallow structure below the moon’s surface.

Prior to the sample drilling process, the Lunar Ground Penetration Radar analyzed the underground structure in the sample collection area, providing baseline data for sample collection.