Sample Return Missions Codexery

Chang'e 5

China's first lunar sample-return mission, launched in 2020.

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The spacecraft launched on 23 November 2020, landed on the Moon on 1 December, and returned to Earth on 16 December.[1] The retrieval of lunar material by Chang'e 5 represented the first such event after the Soviet Union's Luna 24 mission, which occurred in 1976.[2]

Key facts and history

The estimated launch mass of Chang'e 5 was 8200 kg.[3] The landing site is within the Procellarum KREEP Terrain, with elevated heat-producing elements and thin crust.[4] The area contains some of the youngest mare basalts on the Moon, about 1.21 billion years old.[5] The Ascender lifted off from the Moon on 3 December 2020 and docked with the Orbiter/Returner on 5 December.[6]

The return capsule landed in Inner Mongolia on 16 December 2020, containing about 2 kg of lunar material.[7] The Chang'e 5 orbiter later entered orbit around the Sun-Earth L1 Lagrange point on 15 March 2021.[8] The spacecraft was built from two pairs of modules: one consisting of a Lander and an Ascender, the other of an Orbiter and a Returner.[2] A robotic docking in lunar orbit, the first of its kind, was performed by the Ascender with the Orbiter/Returner combination.[2]

What the cited sources add

The Space article reports that the robotic rendezvous and docking in lunar orbit was a first-ever achievement.[9] The CNSA statement confirms that the landing site had never been visited before Chang'e 5.[10] The CNSA statement also notes that design work on Chang'e 5 began in January 2011 and construction started in December 2015.[10] The Space.com article by Jones states that the Chang'e 5 lander lacked radioisotope heater units, unlike earlier Chang'e landers.[11]

The same article indicates the lander likely ceased working after acting as a launchpad for the ascender.[11][12]

References

  1. Wikipedia, "Chang'e 5" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Liu, "Landing Site Selection and Overview of China's Lunar Landing Missions", Space Science Reviews, February 2021, p. 6; CNSA, "China's Chang'e-5 retrieves 1,731 kilograms of moon samples"; Jones, "China says it's open to sharing moon rocks as Chang'e 5 samples head to the lab", space.com, 23 December 2020 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
  2. Wikipedia, "Chang'e 5" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: published, "China's Chang'e 5 aces lunar orbit docking needed to bring moon samples home", Space, 2020-12-06 (we also read that source) en.wikipedia.org
  3. Wikipedia, "Chang'e 5" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: "十年铸器，嫦娥五号这些年", mp.weixin.qq.com, 26 November 2020 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
  4. Wikipedia, "Chang'e 5" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Unified Geologic Map of the Moon , C. M. Fortezzo, P. D. Spudis, S. L. Harrel, 2020. United States Geological Survey.; Jones, "China's Chang'e 5 moon landing site finally has a name", Space.com, 8 July 2021; Jolliff, "Major lunar crustal terranes: Surface expressions and crust-mantle origins", Journal of Geophysical Research: Planets, 2000-02-25, p. 4197–4216 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
  5. Wikipedia, "Chang'e 5" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Qian, "Geology and Scientific Significance of the Rümker Region in Northern Oceanus Procellarum: China's Chang'E-5 Landing Region", Journal of Geophysical Research: Planets, June 2018, p. 1407–1430; Qian, "Geology and Scientific Significance of the Rümker Region in Northern Oceanus Procellarum: China's Chang'E-5 Landing Region", Journal of Geophysical Research: Planets, June 2018, p. 1407–1430; Qian, "Young lunar mare basalts in the Chang'e-5 sample return region, northern Oceanus Procellarum", Earth and Planetary Science Letters, February 20 en.wikipedia.org
  6. Wikipedia, "Chang'e 5" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Andrew, "China's Chang'e 5 probe lifts off from moon carrying lunar samples", Space.com, 3 December 2020; CNSA, "Chang'e 5 mission continues as ascender separates"; "Chang'e-5 spacecraft smashes into moon after completing mission", SpaceNews, 8 December 2020; CNSA, "Chang'e 5 set to start journey to Earth" (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
  7. Wikipedia, "Chang'e 5" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: CNSA, "Chang'e 5's reentry capsule lands with moon samples" (we also read that source) en.wikipedia.org
  8. Wikipedia, "Chang'e 5" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: "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 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
  9. published, "China's Chang'e 5 aces lunar orbit docking needed to bring moon samples home", Space, 2020-12-06. facts only, no text reused. space.com
  10. CNSA, "Chang'e 5's reentry capsule lands with moon samples". facts only, no text reused. cnsa.gov.cn
  11. Jones, "China's Chang'e 5 moon lander is no more after successfully snagging lunar rocks", Space.com, 14 December 2020. facts only, no text reused. space.com
  12. Wikipedia, "Chang'e 5" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Jones, "China's Chang'e 5 moon lander is no more after successfully snagging lunar rocks", Space.com, 14 December 2020 (we also read that source) en.wikipedia.org

Each numbered sentence above was checked against the source it cites before publication. Sentences citing Wikipedia adapt text from the English Wikipedia article Chang'e 5 (contributors), used under CC BY-SA 4.0; this entry is available under the same licence. Other sources were used for facts only; no text or images are copied from them.

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Sources

Compiled from Wikipedia and the sources listed below. Text from Wikipedia is available under CC BY-SA 4.0; this entry is adapted from it.

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