Nuked China’s chang-e-5 mission completed a tricky docking maneuver as it prepares to return soil samples it collected from the moon’s surface back to earth.
Chang-e 5 launched on November 23rd atop a long March 5 rocket. Its lander and ascent vehicle landed on the moon December 1st. The lander gathered rocks and soil, and on Saturday, docked in orbit with the service module.
A great image from the chang-e-5 orbiter from the chang’e-5 orbiter. Shows the approaching ascent vehicle and a crescent earth.
If the mission is successful, it will make China only the third country to return samples from the moon. The last successful lunar sample return mission was the Soviet Union’s Luna 24 mission in 1976.
