China’s Chang’e 5 moon mission takes another step closer to earth
- Spacecraft completes first of two changes in orbit that will allow it to break free of the moon’s gravity
- Mission collected rocks from the lunar surface for the first time in more than four decades
China’s latest lunar mission has moved one step closer to completion as the Chang’e 5 spacecraft completed the first of two alterations to its orbit around the moon, raising expectations of an imminent return to earth.
After spending six days orbiting the moon, the combined orbiter and return vehicles successfully changed course from a near-circular orbit to an elliptical orbit on Saturday, according to Chinese state news agency Xinhua.
The second alternation is expected to allow the spacecraft to break free from the moon’s pull and set it on a path towards earth. Chang’e 5 is expected to land in Inner Mongolia some time between Tuesday and Thursday.
The mission is the first to bring rocks from the moon to earth in more than four decades, and China will become the third country to do so after the United States and Soviet Union.
After launching on November 24 from the southern island of Hainan, it took almost five days of travel before Chang’e 5 came close to the moon.
On December 1, the spacecraft’s moon lander and ascender vehicle landed near the peak of Mons Rümker, a mountain in the Oceanus Procellarum (Ocean of Storms) region of the moon.