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On Sunday, December 6, 2020, the Chinese probe “Changi 5” succeeded in docking with the vehicle which remained in the lunar orbit, after leaving the lunar surface on Thursday, December 3, 2020, taking samples that would return to Earth.
This coalescence was one of the steps in the probe’s ambitious mission to return to Earth with samples from the moon’s surface for the first time in 40 years.
“Changi 5” consists of several parts, which are an orbiter (which remained in the orbit of the moon during the implementation of the mission), a lunar lander (which landed on the surface of the moon) and an ascension module (from the surface to the orbit of the moon).
And the last part that carries samples from the moon’s surface is the one that joined the orbiter on Sunday morning, according to China’s new official National Space Agency news agency.
And the new Chinese agency stressed that the docking is “the first of its kind in lunar orbit” for China.
The capsule’s departure from the lunar surface on Thursday also acquired historic significance for China, as it was the first time Beijing had taken off a vehicle located in a space location.
After the samples were first placed in the ascending unit, they were emptied into the capsule, which would return to the ground, according to the news agency.
And if the probe were able to send the samples back to Earth, China would become the third country to bring samples from the Moon, after the United States and the former Soviet Union.
The last Soviet attempt with an unmanned spacecraft “Luna 24” dates back to 1976, and it was successfully completed.
This mission is part of the Chinese space program, which in early 2019 achieved unprecedented scientific feat after its vehicle landed on a part of the moon that could not be seen from Earth.
This is not the first time that China has sent chariots to the moon as part of the “Changi” program, which is the name of the moon goddess according to Chinese mythology.
China previously sent two small robots to the moon named “Jade Rabbit” in 2013 and 2019.
China is investing billions of dollars in its space program to catch up with Europe, the United States and Russia, and it sent the first Chinese astronaut in 2003.
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