China's spacecraft successfully lands on moon to bring back lunar rocks to Earth, first attempt since 1970s

China successfully landed its spacecraft on the Moon on December 1, 2020 to bring back lunar rocks to the Earth for the first time since the 1970s. 

China's Chang'e 5 probe "successfully landed" at the planned landing site, as per local media that cited the China National Space Administration. More details are awaited on the same. 

The lander was launched on November 24, 2020 from the Hainan island in China. The mission is the latest in the Chinese space programme. 

Mission Objective 

•As per the planned objective, the lander will spend about two days drilling into the lunar surface and collecting 2 kilograms (4.4 pounds) of rocks and debris.

•The rock samples will then be lifted up into orbit and transferred to a return capsule for the return trip to Earth.

•If the mission is successful, this will be the first time that scientists obtain fresh samples of lunar rocks since the Soviet space probe in the 1970s.

•It will also make China the third country to retrieve samples from the moon after the Soviet Union and the United States and the first since 1970s. 

Previous Missions to retrieve samples from Moon

The Soviet Union had deployed three successful robotic sample return missions in the 1970s. The last mission, Luna 24, was in 1976 and it had brought back almost  170.1 grams (6 ounces) of samples from Marie Crisium or ‘Sea of Crises’.

The United States had also landed 12 astronauts over six flights under its Apollo Space Programme from 1969 to 1972, who brought back 382 kg (842 pounds) of soil and rocks.

7 things you should know about China's Space Programme:

1. The Chang'e 5 probe is China's third successful landing on the Moon. It was launched in collaboration with the European Space Agency, which is supporting in monitoring the mission.

2. Its predecessor, Chang'e 4, was the first probe to land on the moon's far side, which is little-explored. India had made a similar attempt in September 2019 but was unsuccessful after its Chandrayaan-2 lander crash landed on the Moon's surface and lost connection with the ground.  

3. China's space program has proceeded with more caution than the United States and the Soviet Union, whose space race of the 1960s was marked by fatalities and launch failures.

4. China became the third country to send an astronaut into orbit on its own in 2003 after the Soviet Union and the United States.

5. is also planning to launch a next-generation crewed space station.

6. China also has joined in the space race to explore the red planet, Mars. China's Tianwen 1 Mars probe, which was launched in July 2020, is currently on its way to the red planet carrying a lander and a rover to search for water on the planet. 

7. China also plans to land a human on the moon eventually but no timeline has been set for the same.