A Long March 5 rocket carrying China’s Chang’e 5 lunar probe launches from the Wenchang Space Centre in Hainan on a mission to bring back lunar rocks. Photo: AFP A Long March 5 rocket carrying China’s Chang’e 5 lunar probe launches from the Wenchang Space Centre in Hainan on a mission to bring back lunar rocks. Photo: AFP
A Long March 5 rocket carrying China’s Chang’e 5 lunar probe launches from the Wenchang Space Centre in Hainan on a mission to bring back lunar rocks. Photo: AFP

Space

China /  Science

Lift-off for China’s Chang’e 5: the first chance since 1976 to bring lunar samples back to Earth

  • Long March 5 rocket carrying spacecraft takes off in China’s most complex mission yet
  • Technology has brought the drilling and retrieval project a long way but may also bring the most difficult problems

Topic |   Space
Stephen Chen
Stephen Chen in Beijing

Updated: 8:06pm, 30 Nov, 2020

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A Long March 5 rocket carrying China’s Chang’e 5 lunar probe launches from the Wenchang Space Centre in Hainan on a mission to bring back lunar rocks. Photo: AFP A Long March 5 rocket carrying China’s Chang’e 5 lunar probe launches from the Wenchang Space Centre in Hainan on a mission to bring back lunar rocks. Photo: AFP
A Long March 5 rocket carrying China’s Chang’e 5 lunar probe launches from the Wenchang Space Centre in Hainan on a mission to bring back lunar rocks. Photo: AFP
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