Chang'e 5 (Chinese: 嫦娥五号; pinyin: Cháng'é wǔhào[note 1]) was the fifth lunar exploration mission in the Chinese Lunar Exploration Program of CNSA, and China's first lunar sample-return mission.[13] Like its predecessors, the spacecraft is named after the Chinese moon goddess, Chang'e. It launched at 20:30 UTC on 23 November 2020, from Wenchang Spacecraft Launch Site on Hainan Island, landed on the Moon on 1 December 2020, collected ~1,731 g (61.1 oz) of lunar samples (including from a core ~1 m deep),[14][15] and returned to the Earth at 17:59 UTC on 16 December 2020.

Chang'e 5
Chang'e 5 probe separating from the launcher (artist's impression)
Mission typeLunar sample return
OperatorCNSA
COSPAR ID2020-087A Edit this at Wikidata
SATCAT no.47097
Mission durationElapsed: 3 years, 11 months, 21 days
Spacecraft properties
ManufacturerCAST
Launch mass8,200 kg[1]
Start of mission
Launch date23 November 2020
20:30:12 UTC[1]
24 November 2020
04:30 CST[2]
RocketLong March 5
Launch siteWenchang
ContractorCALT
End of mission
Landing date16 December 2020
17:59 UTC[1]
Return capsule
Landing siteInner Mongolia, China
Lunar orbiter
Orbital insertion28 November 2020
12:58 UTC[3]
Orbital parameters
Periapsis altitude200 km (120 mi)[3]
Lunar lander
Landing date1 December 2020
15:11 UTC[4]
Return launch3 December 2020
15:10 UTC
Landing siteMons Rümker, region of Oceanus Procellarum
43°03′27″N 51°54′58″W / 43.0576°N 51.9161°W / 43.0576; -51.9161[5][6]
Sample mass1,731 g (61.1 oz)[7]
Docking with Sample Ascender
Docking date5 December 2020, 21:42:00 UTC[8]
Undocking date7 December 2020, 04:35:00 UTC[9]
Flyby of Moon
Spacecraft componentorbiter
Closest approach~9 September 2021[10]
Chang'e probes
Chang'e 5
Simplified Chinese嫦娥五号
Traditional Chinese嫦娥五號
Transcriptions
Standard Mandarin
Hanyu PinyinCháng'é wǔhào

Chang'e 5 was the first lunar sample-return mission since the Soviet Union's Luna 24 in 1976. New lunar minerals, including Changesite-(Y) and two different structures of the titanium compound Ti2O, were identified from the samples returned from the mission, making China the third country to discover a new lunar mineral.[16][17] The mission also made China the third country to return samples from the Moon after the United States and the Soviet Union.

Overview

edit

The Chinese Lunar Exploration Program has four phases, with incremental technological advancement:[18][19]

The Chinese Lunar Exploration Program plan to lead to crewed missions in the 2030s.[18][19]

The Chang'e 5 Lander and Orbiter Combination assembly factory test.
Chang'e 5 in testing phase
The Chang'e 5 ascender testing

Equipment

edit
 
Chang'e 5 launch configuration (from top):
Ascender (Ascent stage)
Lander (Lunar lander)
Re-Entry Capsule (Earth lander)
Orbiter (Orbital vehicle)

Components

edit

The Chang'e 5 mission consists of four modules or components:

  • Lander: landed on the lunar surface after separating from the Orbiter, installed with a drill and a scooping device. The Ascender is on the top of the Lander.
  • Ascender: after sampling, the lunar samples were transported to a container within the Ascender. The Ascender launched from the lunar surface at 15:11 UTC, on 3 December 2020, followed by automatic lunar orbit rendezvous and docking with the Orbiter. After transferring the sample, the Ascender separated from the Orbiter, deorbited, and fell back down on the Moon at 22:49 UTC, on 6 December 2020, to avoid becoming space debris.
  • Orbiter: after the samples were transported from the Ascender to the Orbiter, the Orbiter left lunar orbit and spent ~4.5 days flying back to Earth orbit and released the Returner (reentry capsule) just before arrival.
  • Returner: The Returner performed a skip reentry to bounce off the atmosphere once before formal reentering.

The four components were launched together and flew to the Moon as a combined unit. After reaching lunar orbit (14:58 UTC, on 28 November 2020), the Lander/Ascender separated from the Orbiter/Returner modules (20:40 UTC, on 29 November 2020), and descended to the surface of the Moon (15:13 UTC, on 1 December 2020). After samples had been collected, the Ascender separated from the Lander (15:11 UTC, on 3 December 2020), lifted off to the Orbiter/Returner, docked with them, and transferred the samples to the Returner. The Ascender then separated from the Orbiter/Returner and crashed on the Moon (~30°S in latitude and 0° in longitude) at 22:49 UTC, on 8 December 2020. The Orbiter/Returner then returned to the Earth, where the Returner separated and descended to the surface of the Earth at 17:59 UTC, on 16 December 2020.

The estimated launch mass of Chang'e 5 was 8,200 kg (18,100 lb),[23] the Lander was projected to be 3,200 kg (7,100 lb), and Ascender was about 700 kg (1,500 lb). Unlike Chang'e 4, which was equipped with a radioisotope heater unit to survive the extreme cold of lunar night, the Lander of Chang'e 5 stopped functioning in the following lunar night.

Scientific payloads

edit

Chang'e 5 included four scientific payloads, including a Landing Camera, a Panoramic Camera, a Lunar Mineralogical Spectrometer,[24] and a Lunar Regolith Penetrating Radar.[25][26] Chang'e 5 collected samples using two methods, i.e., drilling for subsurface samples and scooping for surface samples. The scooping device was developed by The Hong Kong Polytechnic University, consisting of Sampler A, Sampler B, Near-field Cameras, and Sealing and Packaging System.[27]

Mission profile

edit

Launch

edit
 
Chang'e 5 was launched by a Long March 5 Y-5 launch vehicle from Wenchang Spacecraft Launch Site.

Chang'e 5 was planned to be launched in November 2017 by the Long March 5 rocket. However, a July 2017 failure of the referenced carrier rocket forced a delay on the original schedule two times until the end of 2020.[28] On 27 December 2019, the Long March 5 successfully returned to service, thereby allowing the current mission to proceed after the Tianwen-1 mission.[29] The Chang'e 5 probe was launched at 20:30 UTC, on 23 November 2020, by a Long March 5 Y-5 launch vehicle from the Wenchang Spacecraft Launch Site on Hainan Island.

Earth–Moon Transfer

edit
 
Landing site of Chang'e 5 near the Louville Omega hill (Louville ω, from the nearby Louville crater)

After launch, Chang'e 5 applied its first orbital correction at 14:06 UTC, on 24 November 2020, second orbital correction at 14:06 UTC, on 25 November 2020, entered lunar orbit at 14:58 UTC, on 28 November 2020 (elliptical orbital), adjusted its orbit to a circular orbit at 12:23 UTC, on 29 November 2020, and the Lander/Ascender separated from the Orbiter/Returner at 20:10 UTC, on 29 November 2020, in preparation for landing.[30]

Landing site

edit

The Lander/Ascender landed on the Moon on 1 December 2020, at 15:11 UTC.[31] The Chang'e 5 landing site is at 43.1°N (in latitude), 51.8°W (in longitude) in the Northern Oceanus Procellarum near a huge volcanic complex, Mons Rümker,[32] located in the northwest lunar near side. The area is mapped as 'Eratosthenian Mare' by the USGS.[33] The Chang'e 5 landing site, named Statio Tianchuan,[34] is within the Procellarum KREEP Terrain,[35] with elevated heat-producing elements, thin crust, and prolonged volcanism. This area is characterized by some of the youngest mare basalts on the Moon (~1.21 billion years old),[36] with elevated titanium, thorium, and olivine abundances,[36] which have never been sampled by the American Apollo program and the Soviet Luna programme.[3]

Photograph of the Chang'e 5 lander on the surface of the Moon taken by the NASA Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter

Back to Earth

edit
 
Chang'e 5 return capsule transported back to CAST, where the sample container was unsealed

The Chang'e 5 Ascender lifted off from Oceanus Procellarum at 15:10 UTC, on 3 December 2020, and six minutes later, arrived in lunar orbit.[38] The Ascender docked with the Orbiter/Returner combination in lunar orbit on 5 December 2020, at 21:42 UTC, and the samples were transferred to the return capsule at 22:12 UTC. The Ascender separated from the Orbiter/Returner combination on 6 December 2020, at 04:35 UTC.[39] After completing its role of the mission, the Ascender was commanded to deorbit on 7 December 2020, at 22:59 UTC, and crashed into the Moon's surface at 23:30 UTC, in the area of (~30°S, 0°E).[40] On 13 December 2020, at 01:51 UTC, from a distance of 230 kilometers from the lunar surface, the Orbiter and Returner successfully fired four engines to enter the Moon-Earth Hohmann transfer orbit.[41]

The electronics and systems on the Chang'e 5 lunar lander were expected to cease working on 11 December 2020, due to the Moon's extreme cold and lack of a radioisotope heater unit. However, engineers were also prepared for the possibility that the Chang'e 5 lander could be damaged and stop working after acting as the launchpad for the ascender module on 3 December 2020, as turned out to be the case.[42]

On 16 December 2020, at around 18:00 UTC, the roughly 300 kg (660 lb) return capsule performed a ballistic skip reentry, in effect bouncing off the atmosphere over the Arabian Sea before re-entry. The capsule, containing around 2 kg (4.4 lb) of drilled and scooped lunar material, landed in the grasslands of Siziwang Banner in the Ulanqab region of south central Inner Mongolia. Surveillance drones spotted the Returner capsule prior to its touchdown, and recovery vehicles located the capsule shortly afterwards.[43]

The next day, it was reported that Chang'e 5's service module had performed an atmospheric re-entry avoidance burn and had been on-course to an Earth–Sun L1 Lagrange point orbit as a part of its extended mission.

Extended mission

edit

After dropping off the return samples for Earth, the Chang'e 5 (CE-5) orbiter was successfully captured by the Sun-Earth L1 Lagrange point at 5:39 UTC, on 15 March 2021, and became the first Chinese spacecraft to orbit the Sun–Earth L1 Lagrange point. The distance at the time of capture was about 936,700 kilometers from Earth and the orbiter entered an orbit with a period of about 6 months.[44] On its 88-day journey to L1, mission control conducted 2 orbital maneuvers and 2 trajectory correction maneuvers. It made a lunar flyby in an extended mission on 9 September 2021.[10]

In January 2022, CE-5 left the L1 point[45] for the lunar distant retrograde orbit (DRO) to conduct very-long-baseline interferometry tests in preparation for the next stage of China's Lunar Exploration Program.[45][46] According to The Space Review (TSR), this maneuver was depicted in Chinese government and academic documents.[47] In February 2022, multiple amateur satellite trackers observed that CE-5 had entered DRO, making it the first spacecraft in history to utilize the orbit.[45]

Lunar sample research

edit
 
Lunar soil sample collected by China's Chang'e 5 mission, displayed at Airshow China 2021
 
Soil samples studied by the Institute of Geology and Geophysics, Chinese Academy of Sciences
 
Helium-filled bubbles

The ~1,731 g (61.1 oz) of lunar samples collected by Chang'e 5 have enormous scientific importance, due to their abnormally young ages (<2.0 billion years old).[36][3] In particular, they may provide insights on lunar chronology, petrogenesis, regional setting, geodynamic and thermal evolution, regolith formation, calibrating the lunar chronology function, constraining the lunar dynamo status, unraveling the deep mantle's properties, and assessing the Procellarum KREEP Terrain structures.[3]

Dating this relatively young part of the Moon's surface would provide an additional calibration point for estimating the surface ages of other Solar System bodies.[48][49] Wu Yanhua (吴艳华), deputy director of the China National Space Administration (CNSA) announced that the new samples will be shared with the UN and international partners for space research purposes.[50][51]

Preliminary analysis of the basalt lava samples taken from Oceanus Procellarum, led by the Chinese Academy of Geological Sciences, determined the age of these rocks to be close to 1.96 billion years old, filling a critical age-gap of available lunar rock samples, which, among other applications, can assist in further calibrating planetary crater chronological tools.[52] The team discovered evidence of hydroxyl molecules in the samples through reflectance spectra, indicating the likely presence of water molecules up to 120 ppm. The researchers postulated the water and hydroxyl molecules had been embedded in the lunar soil through solar wind.[53]

First Chinese flag on the Moon

edit

Chang'e 5's lunar lander deployed the first Chinese flag on the Moon.[54] The flag was made from a composite material to withstand the Moon's harsh environment without fading or deforming.[54] Chinese scientists spent over a year testing dozens of possible materials for the flag.[55] Weighing only 12 grams, it can maintain its true colors under a temperature difference of plus or minus 150 degrees Celsius.[54]

edit
 
Artist's impression of the lander on the Moon

Chang'e 5-T1

edit

Chang'e 5-T1 is an experimental robotic lunar mission as a preliminary to Chang'e 5 that was launched on 23 October 2014, to conduct atmospheric re-entry tests on the capsule design that was planned to be used in the Chang'e 5 mission.[56][57] Its service module, called DFH-3A, remained in orbit around the Earth before being relocated via Earth–Moon L2 to lunar orbit by 13 January 2015, where it is using its remaining 800 kg of fuel to test maneuvers critical to future lunar missions.[58]

Chang'e 6

edit

Chang'e 6 is a follow-up mission by CNSA using the same mission architecture to return samples from the Far side of the Moon. It launched on 3 May 2024 and landed on the far side of the Moon on 1 June 2024 and returned back samples on 25 June 2024.[59][60]

International collaboration

edit

The European Space Agency (ESA) had supported the Chang'e 5 mission by providing tracking via ESA's Kourou station, located in French Guiana. ESA tracked the spacecraft during the launch and landing phases while providing on-call backup for China's ground stations throughout the mission. Data from the Kourou station had helped the mission control team at the Beijing Aerospace Flight Control Center to determine the spacecraft's health and orbit status. Chang'e 5 was returned to Earth on 16 December 2020. During the landing phase, ESA used its Maspalomas Station, located in the Canary Islands and operated by the Instituto Nacional de Técnica Aeroespacial (INTA) in Spain, to support the tracking efforts.[61]

International reactions to mission and samples

edit

Many media commentators discussed Chang'e 5's in comparison to that of the last successful sample return oriented lunar missions in the 20th century, which were those conducted by the American Apollo program and the Soviet Luna programme in the 1960–70s, that involved Luna 15, Luna 16, and Luna 24 being sent to the Moon. Notably, the Luna 16 mission successfully returned about 100 grams of lunar soil a year later and two other sample return missions succeeded in subsequent years, the last one since Chang'e 5 being Luna 24 in 1976.[62]

The moon rocks that the mission returned to Earth were commended to be "the perfect sample to close a 2-billion-year gap" in the understanding of lunar geology.[63] The open access to the samples by CNSA to a consortium of scientists from Australia, US, UK, and Sweden were hailed as "science done in the ideal way: an international collaboration, with free sharing of data and knowledge—and all done in the most collegial way possible. This is diplomacy by science," by Brad Jolliff, director of the McDonnell Center for the Space Sciences at Washington University in St. Louis.[64]

See also

edit

Notes

edit
  1. ^ In Standard Chinese, it is pronounced as Cháng'é.[11] Alternatively pronounced and spelled like Chang-Er in Malaysian Chinese.[12]

References

edit
  1. ^ a b c "Chang'e 5". NASA Space Science Data Coordinated Archive. Archived from the original on 10 December 2020. Retrieved 30 November 2022.
  2. ^ "NASA – NSSDCA Spacecraft Details – Chang'e 5". nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov. NASA. Archived from the original on 30 November 2020. Retrieved 16 November 2020.   This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.
  3. ^ a b c d e Qian, Yuqi; Xiao, Long; Head, James W.; van der Bogert, Carolyn H.; Hiesinger, Harald; Wilson, Lionel (February 2021). "Young lunar mare basalts in the Chang'e-5 sample return region, northern Oceanus Procellarum". Earth and Planetary Science Letters. 555: 116702. Bibcode:2021E&PSL.55516702Q. doi:10.1016/j.epsl.2020.116702. S2CID 229938628. Archived from the original on 18 January 2021.
  4. ^ Berger, Eric (December 2020). "China Chang'e 5 probe has safely landed on the Moon". arstechnica.com. Archived from the original on 15 December 2020. Retrieved 1 December 2020.
  5. ^ Williams, David R. (7 December 2018). "Future Chinese Lunar Missions". NASA. Archived from the original on 4 January 2019.   This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.
  6. ^ Jones, Andrew (7 June 2017). "China confirms landing site for Chang'e-5 Moon sample return". GB Times. Archived from the original on 28 March 2019. Retrieved 17 December 2017.
  7. ^ "China's Chang'e-5 retrieves 1,731 grams of moon samples". Xinhua News Agency. 19 December 2020. Archived from the original on 20 December 2020.
  8. ^ Jones, Andrew (6 December 2020). "China's Chang'e 5 aces lunar orbit docking needed to bring moon samples home". Space.com. Archived from the original on 7 March 2023. Retrieved 2 January 2023.
  9. ^ Krebs, Gunter D. "Chang'e 5, 6 (CE 5, 6)". Gunter's Space Page. Archived from the original on 10 January 2019. Retrieved 3 January 2023.
  10. ^ a b "China's Chang'e-5 orbiter is heading back to the moon". SpaceNews. 6 September 2021. Archived from the original on 30 August 2022. Retrieved 8 September 2021.
  11. ^ Lemei, Yang (2006). "China's Mid-Autumn Day". Journal of Folklore Research. 43 (3). Indiana University Press: 263–270. doi:10.2979/JFR.2006.43.3.263. S2CID 161494297. Retrieved 21 December 2020. China's Mid-Autumn Day, a traditional occasion to celebrate family unity and harmony, is related to two Chinese tales. The first is the myth of Cháng'é, who flew to the moon, where she has dwelt ever since.
  12. ^ Loong, Gary Lit Ying (27 September 2020). "Of mooncakes and moon-landing". New Straits Times. Malaysia. Archived from the original on 15 December 2020. Retrieved 27 November 2020.
  13. ^ Liu, Jianjun; Zeng, Xingguo; Li, Chunlai; Ren, Xin; Yan, Wei; Tan, Xu; Zhang, Xiaoxia; Chen, Wangli; Zuo, Wei; Liu, Yuxuan; Liu, Bin (February 2021). "Landing Site Selection and Overview of China's Lunar Landing Missions". Space Science Reviews. 217 (1): 6. Bibcode:2021SSRv..217....6L. doi:10.1007/s11214-020-00781-9. ISSN 0038-6308. S2CID 234037992.
  14. ^ CNSA. "China's Chang'e-5 retrieves 1,731 kilograms of moon samples". Archived from the original on 4 January 2021. Retrieved 9 January 2021.
  15. ^ Jones, Andrew (23 December 2020). "China says it's open to sharing moon rocks as Chang'e 5 samples head to the lab". space.com. Archived from the original on 30 August 2022. Retrieved 18 January 2021.
  16. ^ Andrew Jones (12 September 2022). "China discovers new moon mineral in lunar samples". Space.com. Retrieved 27 June 2024.
  17. ^ "Chinese scientists may be a step closer to unravelling mystery of lunar surface". South China Morning Post. 7 April 2024. Retrieved 27 June 2024.
  18. ^ a b c XU, Lin; PEI, Zhaoyu; ZOU, Yongliao; WANG, Chi (2020). "China's Lunar and Deep Space Exploration Program for the Next Decade (2020–2030)". Chinese Journal of Space Science. 40 (5): 615–617. Bibcode:2020ChJSS..40..615X. doi:10.11728/cjss2020.05.615. S2CID 256879221.
  19. ^ a b Yang, Ruihong; Zhang, Yuhua; Kang, Yan; Wang, Qian; Ma, Jinan; Zou, Yongliao; He, Huaiyu; Wang, Wei; Zhang, He; Pei, Zhaoyu; Wang, Qiong (1 August 2020). "Overview of lunar exploration and International Lunar Research Station". Chinese Science Bulletin. 65 (24): 2577–2586. doi:10.1360/TB-2020-0582. ISSN 0023-074X. S2CID 225352892. Archived from the original on 30 August 2022. Retrieved 9 January 2021.
  20. ^ Ziyuan, Ouyang; Chunlai, Li; Yongliao, Zou; Hongbo, Zhang; Chang, Lu; Jianzhong, Liu; Jianjun, Liu; Wei, Zuo; Yan, Su; Weibin, Wen; Wei, Bian (15 September 2010). "Chang'E-1 lunar mission: an overview and primary science results". 空间科学学报 (in English and Chinese). 30 (5): 392–403. Bibcode:2010ChJSS..30..392O. doi:10.11728/cjss2010.05.392. ISSN 0254-6124. S2CID 256972045. Archived from the original on 11 January 2021. Retrieved 9 January 2021.
  21. ^ Li, Chunlai; Liu, Jianjun; Ren, Xin; Zuo, Wei; Tan, Xu; Wen, Weibin; Li, Han; Mu, Lingli; Su, Yan; Zhang, Hongbo; Yan, Jun (July 2015). "The Chang'e 3 Mission Overview". Space Science Reviews. 190 (1–4): 85–101. Bibcode:2015SSRv..190...85L. doi:10.1007/s11214-014-0134-7. ISSN 0038-6308. S2CID 117766265. Archived from the original on 30 August 2022. Retrieved 9 January 2021.
  22. ^ Jia, Yingzhuo; Zou, Yongliao; Ping, Jinsong; Xue, Changbin; Yan, Jun; Ning, Yuanming (November 2018). "The scientific objectives and payloads of Chang'e 4 mission". Planetary and Space Science. 162: 207–215. Bibcode:2018P&SS..162..207J. doi:10.1016/j.pss.2018.02.011. S2CID 125669489. Archived from the original on 30 July 2020.
  23. ^ "十年铸器,嫦娥五号这些年". mp.weixin.qq.com. 26 November 2020. Archived from the original on 15 December 2020. Retrieved 29 November 2020.
  24. ^ Cai, Tingni. "Experimental Ground Validation of Spectral Quality of the Chang'E-5 Lunar Mineralogical Spectrometer". Spectroscopy and Spectral Analysis. 2019 (1): 257–262.
  25. ^ Xiao, Yuan; Su, Yan; Dai, Shun; Feng, Jianqing; Xing, Shuguo; Ding, Chunyu; Li, Chunlai (May 2019). "Ground experiments of Chang'e-5 lunar regolith penetrating radar". Advances in Space Research. 63 (10): 3404–3419. Bibcode:2019AdSpR..63.3404X. doi:10.1016/j.asr.2019.02.001. S2CID 127730975.
  26. ^ Li, Yuxi; Lu, Wei; Fang, Guangyou; Zhou, Bin; Shen, Shaoxiang (April 2019). "Performance verification of Lunar Regolith Penetrating Array Radar of Chang'e-5 mission". Advances in Space Research. 63 (7): 2267–2278. Bibcode:2019AdSpR..63.2267L. doi:10.1016/j.asr.2018.12.012. S2CID 125137061. Archived from the original on 21 June 2022.
  27. ^ "PolyU-made space instruments complete lunar sampling for Chang'e 5". Archived from the original on 11 January 2021. Retrieved 9 January 2021.
  28. ^ Foust, Jeff (25 September 2017). "Long March 5 failure to postpone China's lunar exploration program". SpaceNews. Archived from the original on 30 August 2022. Retrieved 17 December 2017.
  29. ^ "Successful Long March 5 launch opens way for China's major space plans". SpaceNews. 27 December 2019. Archived from the original on 6 May 2021. Retrieved 2 January 2023.
  30. ^ CNSA. "Chinese lunar mission reaches vital stage". Archived from the original on 23 July 2022. Retrieved 9 January 2021.
  31. ^ Myers, Steven Lee; Chang, Kenneth (1 December 2020). "China Lands Chang'e-5 Spacecraft on Moon to Gather Lunar Rocks and Soil". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Archived from the original on 15 December 2020. Retrieved 1 December 2020.
  32. ^ Zhao, Jiannan; Xiao, Long; Qiao, Le; Glotch, Timothy D.; Huang, Qian (27 June 2017). "The Mons Rümker volcanic complex of the Moon: a candidate landing site for the Chang'e-5 mission". Journal of Geophysical Research: Planets. 122 (7): 1419–1442. Bibcode:2017JGRE..122.1419Z. doi:10.1002/2016je005247. ISSN 2169-9097. S2CID 9926094.
  33. ^ Unified Geologic Map of the Moon Archived 29 August 2022 at the Wayback Machine, C. M. Fortezzo, P. D. Spudis, S. L. Harrel, 2020. United States Geological Survey.
  34. ^ Jones, Andrew (8 July 2021). "China's Chang'e 5 moon landing site finally has a name". Space.com. Archived from the original on 8 July 2021. Retrieved 9 July 2021.
  35. ^ Jolliff, Bradley L.; Gillis, Jeffrey J.; Haskin, Larry A.; Korotev, Randy L.; Wieczorek, Mark A. (25 February 2000). "Major lunar crustal terranes: Surface expressions and crust-mantle origins". Journal of Geophysical Research: Planets. 105 (E2): 4197–4216. Bibcode:2000JGR...105.4197J. doi:10.1029/1999JE001103. S2CID 85510409.
  36. ^ a b c Qian, Y. Q.; Xiao, L.; Zhao, S. Y.; Zhao, J. N.; Huang, J.; Flahaut, J.; Martinot, M.; Head, J. W.; Hiesinger, H.; Wang, G. X. (June 2018). "Geology and Scientific Significance of the Rümker Region in Northern Oceanus Procellarum: China's Chang'E-5 Landing Region". Journal of Geophysical Research: Planets. 123 (6): 1407–1430. Bibcode:2018JGRE..123.1407Q. doi:10.1029/2018JE005595. S2CID 51754619.
  37. ^ Qian, Yuqi; Xiao, Long; Wang, Qian; Head, James W.; Yang, Ruihong; Kang, Yan; van der Bogert, Carolyn H.; Hiesinger, Harald; Lai, Xiaoming; Wang, Guoxing; Pang, Yong (1 May 2021). "China's Chang'e-5 landing site: Geology, stratigraphy, and provenance of materials". Earth and Planetary Science Letters. 561: 116855. Bibcode:2021E&PSL.56116855Q. doi:10.1016/j.epsl.2021.116855. ISSN 0012-821X. S2CID 232318939.
  38. ^ Andrew, Jones (3 December 2020). "China's Chang'e 5 probe lifts off from moon carrying lunar samples". Space.com. Archived from the original on 4 December 2020. Retrieved 4 December 2020.
  39. ^ CNSA. "Chang'e 5 mission continues as ascender separates". Archived from the original on 23 January 2021. Retrieved 9 January 2021.
  40. ^ "Chang'e-5 spacecraft smashes into moon after completing mission". SpaceNews. 8 December 2020. Retrieved 11 December 2020.
  41. ^ CNSA. "Chang'e 5 set to start journey to Earth". Archived from the original on 23 January 2021. Retrieved 9 January 2021.
  42. ^ Jones, Andrew (14 December 2020). "China's Chang'e 5 moon lander is no more after successfully snagging lunar rocks". Space.com. Archived from the original on 15 December 2020. Retrieved 15 December 2020.
  43. ^ CNSA. "Chang'e 5's reentry capsule lands with moon samples". Archived from the original on 23 January 2021. Retrieved 9 January 2021.
  44. ^ "中国首颗!嫦娥五号轨道器进入日地L1点探测轨道". Weixin Official Accounts Platform. Archived from the original on 30 August 2022. Retrieved 19 March 2021.
  45. ^ a b c Jones, Andrew (15 February 2022). "A Chinese spacecraft is testing out a new orbit around the moon". Space News.
  46. ^ "Chang'e-5: China's Moon sample return mission". Planetary. Archived from the original on 19 November 2020. Retrieved 4 December 2022.
  47. ^ Burke, Kristin (11 April 2022). "The Space Review: What is China doing at the lunar distant retrograde orbit?". The Space Review. Archived from the original on 12 April 2022. Retrieved 12 April 2022.
  48. ^ Jones, Andrew (16 December 2020). "China recovers Chang'e-5 then takes the Moon samples after complex 23-day mission". SpaceNews. Retrieved 2 January 2023.
  49. ^ Jonathan Amos (16 December 2020). "China's Chang'e-5 mission returns Moon samples". BBC News. Archived from the original on 16 December 2020. Retrieved 17 December 2020.
  50. ^ Amos, Jonathan. "China's Chang'e-5 mission returns Moon samples". BBC News. Archived from the original on 16 December 2020. Retrieved 16 December 2020.
  51. ^ "China says it will share Chang'e 5 samples with global scientific community". South China Morning Post. 17 December 2020. Archived from the original on 17 December 2020. Retrieved 17 December 2020.
  52. ^ Che, Xiaochao; Nemchin, Alexander; Liu, Dunyi; Long, Tao; Wang, Chen; Norman, Marc D.; Joy, Katherine H.; Tartese, Romain; Head, James; Jolliff, Bradley; Snape, Joshua F. (2021). "Age and composition of young basalts on the Moon, measured from samples returned by Chang'e-5". Science. 374 (6569): 887–890. Bibcode:2021Sci...374..887C. doi:10.1126/science.abl7957. PMID 34618547. S2CID 238474681. Archived from the original on 12 October 2021. Retrieved 12 October 2021.
  53. ^ Lin, Honglie; et al. (7 January 2022). "In situ detection of water on the Moon by the Chang'E-5 lander". Science Advances. 8 (1): eabl9174. Bibcode:2022SciA....8.9174L. doi:10.1126/sciadv.abl9174. PMC 8741181. PMID 34995111.
  54. ^ a b c "China plants its flag on the moon with Chang'e 5 lunar lander (photo, video) | Space". Space.com. 25 July 2022. Archived from the original on 25 July 2022. Retrieved 25 July 2022.
  55. ^ Moore, Scott (2022). China's next act : how sustainability and technology are reshaping China's rise and the world's future. New York, NY. p. 128. ISBN 978-0-19-760401-4. OCLC 1316703008. Archived from the original on 24 July 2022. Retrieved 25 July 2022.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
  56. ^ "Chinese Long March Rocket successfully launches Lunar Return Demonstrator". Spaceflight101.com. 23 October 2014. Archived from the original on 24 September 2015. Retrieved 30 October 2014.
  57. ^ "China launches test return orbiter for lunar mission". Xinhuanet. 24 October 2014. Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 30 October 2014.
  58. ^ "Chang'e 5 Test Mission Updates". Spaceflight101.com. Archived from the original on 24 September 2015. Retrieved 14 December 2014.
  59. ^ Jones, Andrew (10 January 2024). "China's Chang'e-6 probe arrives at spaceport for first-ever lunar far side sample mission". SpaceNews. Archived from the original on 3 May 2024. Retrieved 10 January 2024.
  60. ^ "Long March 5 - Chang'e 6". nextspaceflight.com. Archived from the original on 29 April 2024. Retrieved 3 May 2024.
  61. ^ "ESA tracks Chang'e-5 Moon mission". esa.int. European Space Agency. Archived from the original on 15 December 2020. Retrieved 19 November 2020.
  62. ^ "China's Chang'e-5 mission returns Moon samples". BBC News. 16 December 2020. Archived from the original on 18 December 2021. Retrieved 26 July 2023.
  63. ^ Ogliore, Talia (7 October 2021). "Chang'e-5 samples reveal key age of moon rocks - The Source - Washington University in St. Louis". The Source. Archived from the original on 26 July 2023. Retrieved 26 July 2023.
  64. ^ Louis, Washington University in St. "Samples returned by Chang'e-5 reveal key age of moon rocks". phys.org. Archived from the original on 26 July 2023. Retrieved 26 July 2023.
edit