The takeoff vehicle of the Chinese mission Chang’e 5 has left the surface of the moon. On Twitter reports CGTN.
“China’s Chang’e 5 lunar probe rises from the lunar surface and heads back to Earth on Thursday,” reads the tweet.
On board the take-off vehicle there are about two kilograms of volcanic samples obtained by drilling from Rumker Peak, located in the northwestern part of the visible side of the natural satellite of the Earth. Delivery of the regolith to the planet is scheduled for the third week of December. Chang’e 5 became the third Chinese probe to successfully land on the moon and the first to successfully take off from the lunar surface. The last time man-made objects left a natural satellite of the Earth was 44 years ago (the Soviet Luna-24 in 1976).
Chang’e 5 soft landing on the Moon took place December 1st
Mission Chang’e 5 launched on November 24 with a heavy rocket Long March 5 from Wenchang Cosmodrome.
On January 3, 2019, the Chinese 140-kilogram lunar rover of the Chang’e 4 mission completed a> the world’s first soft landing on the opposite side of the Earth’s natural satellite (in the South Pole – Aitken basin).