China became the first country to run robotic docking in the lunar cycle

A Chinese probe was set to launch on Monday in preparation for sending lunar samples back to Earth for the first time in nearly 45 years. The ascent of Modi .L Chang 5 spacecraft After being docked with the robotic spacecraft on Sunday, a container was replaced with 4.4-pound specimens and then cut. This achievement made China the first country to run robotic docking under the command of the moon.

Bit Rebiter and the re-vehicle will wait a narrow time window to travel back to Earth for about three days, 238,000-miles for another week by circling the moon. It will first “bounce” the Earth’s atmosphere to slow down before the rental vehicles detach and land on parachutes in a huge storm in Inner Mongolia, where Chinese Shenzhou crew has also landed. .

If successful, the mission would make China the third country, after the United States and the former Soviet Union, to bring lunar rocks to Earth. These will be the first recent lunar surface samples obtained by scientists since the Soviet Union’s Luna 24 probe in 1976.

Chang5’s ascent slipped off the moon’s surface on Friday, leaving Lander Modi.l Waving the Chinese flag, According to the China National Space Agency. The agency also released a photograph taken by bit Rabbit showing that it is coming together with its ascent, which is a tilted image of the Earth seen in the background.

This is the first time that China has succeeded in launching a space mission from a celestial body, while no other country has achieved the feat of carrying out robotic docking in the lunar orbit before. Earth controllers had to deal with distance and time intervals, while there was no room for error in bringing a clamp into position.

The 23-day mission has been in the state media for several days, linked to reports that China has officially freed all its citizens from the worst of poverty. As well as being the propaganda arm of the ruling Communist Party, the two stories illustrate the tremendous economic and technological progress China has made since it became the third country in history to launch a man into space in 2003.

Chinese Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Hua Chuning praised the people who made the mission possible “the courage to evaluate, overcome difficulties and pay for hard work.”

“All Chinese people are proud of their Chinese lunar exploration efforts and intelligence,” Hua told reporters during a daily briefing on Monday.

Through careful steps, China is now on the cusp of a number of ambitious missions, including the search for a route to Mars and the development of a reusable spacecraft that has been briefly described.

Future plans call for a man to return to the moon after five decades of American astronauts, with a possible permanent lunar base, although no timeline has been offered. China is also building a permanent space station to start operations in early 2022.

The U.S. opposition has barred China’s secret, military-backed program from participating in the International Space Station, although the CNSA is expanding its ties with other programs, including the European Space Agency, which has paved the way for its mission to Change 5. Assisted in vision.

Last week, NASA’s director of science, Thomas Zurbuchen, tweeted Congratulatory message to China After landing on the moon in space.

Chang 5 touched the ocean of storms near the moon on December 1, known as the Moons Runner, which is believed to be the site of ancient volcanic activity.

Rocks and other debris were obtained by drilling into the moon’s crust and falling directly below the surface. They are probably thought to be billions of years younger than the ones brought back and can provide information about the history of the moon as well as other entities in our solar system.

Lunar Research has set up dedicated labs to analyze samples for age and composition. China is also expected to share some of this with other countries, as was done with hundreds of pounds of rock, sand, dust and other samples obtained by the United States and the former Soviet Union.

China is implementing an augmented approach to its lunar programs, launching a series of sophisticated robotic spacecraft to develop and test the prototyping, guidance, navigation and landing systems required for long-term exploration.

The Chang 1 and 2 missions successfully orbited the Moon in 2007 and 2010, respectively, followed by Chang 3 Lunar Lander in 2013 and Chang 4, which landed on the far side of the Moon in 2019. 5 planned sample return missions and the first of China’s most exciting moon missions to date.

Bill Harwood contributed to this report.