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Chang'e 5
Spacecraft
A Chinese lunar sample-return mission that successfully collected and returned 1.731 kg of Moon rocks to Earth in December 2020, marking the first lunar samples retrieved since 1976.
Key Facts
organization | CNSA |
orbital regime | Inner System |
learn more | Wikipedia |
launched | 2020-11-23 |
returned | 2020-12-16 |
launch mass | 8,200 kg |
Mission Timeline
Launched
November 23, 2020 at 20:30 UTC
Luna (The Moon)
Lander
Chang'e 5 successfully landed in the Mons Rümker region of Oceanus Procellarum on December 1, 2020, collecting 1.731 kg of lunar samples which were returned to Earth on December 16, marking the first lunar sample return since 1976.
Returned
December 16, 2020 at 17:59 UTC
The Chang'e 5 mission concluded successfully when its return capsule landed in Inner Mongolia with 1.7 kg of lunar samples, marking the first lunar sample return since 1976.
Related Spacecraft
Chang'e 1
Launched in 2007
Launched in 2007, Chang'e 1 became the first Chinese lunar orbiter, mapping the Moon's surface and chemical composition during its 16-month mission before being intentionally crashed into the lunar surface in March 2009.
Chang'e 2
Launched in 2010
Following its 2010 launch, Chang'e 2 mapped the Moon's surface in high resolution, flew by asteroid 4179 Toutatis, and became China's first spacecraft to reach the Sun-Earth Lagrange point L2.
Chang'e 4
Launched in 2018
A robotic spacecraft that achieved the first soft landing on the lunar far side in January 2019, deploying the Yutu-2 rover to explore the South Pole-Aitken basin and conduct pioneering radio astronomy observations from the Moon's surface.
Yutu-2
Launched in 2018
A robotic lunar rover that landed on the far side of the Moon in January 2019 as part of the Chang'e 4 mission, becoming the first spacecraft to make a soft landing on the lunar far side and continuing to operate while exploring the South Pole-Aitken Basin.
Chang'e 6
Launched in 2024
A planned lunar mission slated for launch in 2024 that will attempt to collect and return samples from the far side of the Moon, marking the first-ever sample return from the lunar far side.
