At 4:30 a.m. on November 24, 2020, China successfully launched the Chang'e-5 probe for its lunar exploration program aboard the Long March 5 Y5 carrier rocket from the Wenchang Spacecraft Launch Site. After about 2,200 seconds of flight, the rocket accurately sent the probe into its predetermined orbit, kicking off China's first mission to collect and bring back samples from an extraterrestrial celestial body.

After the liftoff of the Long March 5 Y5 carrier rocket, a series of maneuvers were completed successively, including booster separation, fairing separation, first and second stage separation, as well as spacecraft-rocket separation.

Pei Zhaoyu, Deputy Director of the Lunar Exploration and Space Engineering Center of the China National Space Administration and Spokesperson for the Chang'e‑5 mission, introduced that the Chang'e‑5 probe consists of four parts: an orbiter, a returner, a lander and an ascender. After trans‑lunar injection, lunar orbit insertion and circumlunar flight, the lander‑ascender combination will separate from the orbiter‑returner combination. The orbiter carrying the returner will remain in lunar orbit, while the lander with the ascender aboard will conduct a soft landing in a preselected area on the near side of the Moon at an appropriate time, and carry out follow‑up operations including automatic lunar surface sampling as planned.

It is reported that the Chang'e-5 mission is designed to achieve three major engineering objectives. First, to break through key technologies including narrow-window multi-orbit integrated launch, automatic lunar surface sampling and encapsulation, lunar liftoff, lunar orbit rendezvous and docking, and lunar sample storage, so as to elevate China’s aerospace technological capabilities. Second, to complete China’s first automatic sampling and return mission from an extraterrestrial celestial body and drive scientific and technological progress. Third, to improve the lunar exploration engineering system and lay important talent, technological and material foundations for China’s future crewed lunar landing and deep space exploration.

The scientific objectives of the Chang'e-5 mission are mainly to conduct topographic exploration and geological survey of the landing site area, obtain on-site analytical data related to lunar samples, and establish correlations between in-situ detection data and laboratory analysis data. It also aims to carry out systematic and long-term laboratory research on lunar samples, analyze the structure, physical properties and material composition of lunar soil, and further advance research on the origin and evolutionary history of the Moon.

The Chang'e-5 mission is organized and implemented by the China National Space Administration, specifically composed of five major systems: the overall engineering system, probe system, carrier rocket system, launch site system, TT&C and recovery system, and ground application system.

Since the lunar exploration project was approved and officially launched in January 2004, five missions including Chang'e-1, Chang'e-2, Chang'e-3, the re-entry and return flight test, and Chang'e-4 have been successfully completed in succession. This launch marks the 353rd flight of the Long March series carrier rockets.

(Source: Xinhuanet)