China’s Chang’e-5 spacecraft has successfully and safely landed on the Moon’s surface on Tuesday (December 2) to undertake the country's first collection of samples from an extraterrestrial body to help scientists learn more about the moon’s origins. ALSO READ | Chandrayaan 2 Completes 1 Year Around The Moon With 4400 Orbits, ISRO Says, ' Enough Fuel To Orbit For Next 7 Yrs'


Named after the mythical Chinese goddess of the moon, Chang'e 5 was launched from Wenchang Spacecraft launch site on November 24 and will soon begin digging up samples of lunar soil.

Knwo All About China’s Chang’e-5 Probe To The Moon

It is believed to be one of the most complicated and challenging missions in China's aerospace history, as well as the world's first moon-sample mission for more than 40 years.

It consists of four main spacecraft that will all work together to bring between 2 to 4 kilograms of lunar dirt back to our planet later this month. It also has a robotic arm, a coring drill, a sample chamber and is also equipped with a camera, penetrating radar and a spectrometer.

Off the four, the lander and an ascent vehicle stacked on top of each other separated from the third spacecraft, Chang’e-5’s service module On November 28 and landed on the lunar surface today while latter remained in orbit around the Moon.

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According to latest updates, lander in next few days will now use a robotic arm to drill into the lunar dirt, collect and store it inside a sample container to bring in back to the our planet for the scientists to further research on it. The spacecraft will then collect and store the lunar dirt inside a sample container to bring in back to the our planet for the scientists to further research on it. The spacecraft is set to return to Earth around December 15.