Chinese Lunar Exploration Program, China National Space Administration, Beijing, China

[Airicist]

Chang’e-5 docking and sample transfer

Dec 5, 2020

The Chang’e-5 ascender automatically docked with the orbiter-sample return vehicle on 5 December 2020, at 21:42 UTC (6 December, at 05:42 China Standard Time). At 22:12 UTC (6 December, 06:12 CST), the sample container, containing the soil collected from the Moon, was transferred from the ascender to the sample return vehicle. Chang’e-5 will orbit the Moon for a few days, waiting for adequate window to return to Earth.

[Airicist]

Chang’e-5 orbiter-sample return vehicle separates from ascender

Dec 6, 2020

Having completed its mission, Chang’e-5’s ascender separated from the orbiter-sample return vehicle. According to Gao Lei(CNSA official), the orbiter-returner will orbit the Moon for about six to seven days, then enter the Earth-Moon transfer orbit, and experience another three to four days of flight before returning to Earth”. For the rendezvous and docking operations Chang’e-5 used a microwave radar. After docking, the lunar samples were transferred from the ascender to the sample return vehicle.

[Airicist]

China’s Chang’e 5 lunar mission returns to Earth with moon samples

Dec 16, 2020

China has successfully completed its lunar mission after the Chang’e 5 spacecraft made a safe landing in Siziwang Banner of the Inner Mongolia autonomous region early on December 17, 2020. The mission brought back the first rock samples from the moon in 44 years, making China the third country to have collected lunar samples.

[Airicist]

Article "China's Chang'e-5 lunar probe successfully delivers moon samples to Earth"

by Jennifer Hauser and Zamira Rahim
December 17, 2020

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Chang’e-5 reveals the youngest lunar samples to be directly dated

Oct 20, 2021

According to three scientific papers accepted for publication in the Nature journal, the Chang’e-5 lunar samples are the youngest to be directly dated. The analysis shows that the samples are 2.03 billion years old. The research suggests that the Moon’s interior was still evolving at around 2 billion years ago, with volcanic activity extending by around 800–900 million years more than previously thought.

[Airicist2]

Queqiao-2 launch

Mar 20, 2024

The Long March-8 Y3 launch vehicle (长征八号遥三) launched the Queqiao-2 relay satellite (鹊桥二号中继星, Magpie Bridge-2) from the Wenchang Spacecraft Launch Site, Hainan Province, China, on 20 March 2024, at 00:31 UTC (08:31 local time). According to the China National Space Administration, “after 24 minutes of flight, the satellite separated from the rocket, and entered the planned Earth-Moon transfer orbit with the perigee at 200 kilometres and the apogee at 420,000 kilometres”. Queqiao-2 will provide communications services for the Chang’e-4, Chang’e-6, Chang’e-7 and Chang’e-8 lunar missions.

[Airicist2]

The Queqiao-2 relay satellite

Mar 20, 2024

The Queqiao-2 relay satellite (鹊桥二号中继星, Magpie Bridge-2) was launched by the Long March-8 Y3 launch vehicle (长征八号遥三) from the Wenchang Spacecraft Launch Site, Hainan Province, China, on 20 March 2024, at 00:31 UTC (08:31 local time). Queqiao-2 will provide communications services for the Chang’e-4, Chang’e-6, Chang’e-7 and Chang’e-8 lunar missions.