* Astronomy

Blobrana · L

RE: Chang'e-5

Blobrana · L

China 'well prepared' to launch Chang'e-5 lunar probe in 2017

China is well prepared to launch the Chang'e-5 lunar probe in 2017 to collect and bring back moon rock samples for scientific research, a leading Chinese scientist said Sunday.
Chief Scientist of China's Lunar Exploration Project Ouyang Ziyuan told reporters in northern city of Tianjin that the launch of Chang'e-5 represents the third stage of China's lunar exploration endeavour.
Read more

Blobrana · L

Chang'e 5 test vehicle maps future sample return site http://t.co/3D4Pisjnmo pic.twitter.com/iD97uTMw4F
Emily Lakdawalla (@elakdawalla) September 3, 2015

Blobrana · L

China's experimental spacecraft, designed to fly around the moon and back to Earth, entered lunar orbit on Monday and is making necessary preparations for its trip back home.
The orbiter, launched Friday last week atop an advanced Long March-3C rocket, entered the Moon's gravitational sphere of influence Monday at noon, and is expected to remain there for the next 32 hours.
Read more

Blobrana · L

China Launches Experimental Moon Orbiter

China launched an experimental spacecraft on Friday to fly around the moon and back to Earth in preparation for the country's first unmanned return trip to the lunar surface.
The eight-day program is a test run for a 2017 mission that aims to have a Chinese spacecraft land on the moon, retrieve samples and return to Earth. That would make burgeoning space power China only the third country after the United States and Russia to have carried out such a mission.
Read more

Blobrana · L

China Launches Test Mission for Chang'e 5 Program

China launched to the Moon today. The spacecraft will have a brief 8-day mission out to the Moon and back. It is an engineering test for the technology that the future Change 5 sample return mission will need to return samples to Earth.
On its return, the test spacecraft will approach the terrestrial atmosphere at a velocity of nearly 11.2 kilometers per second and rebound to slow down before re-entering the atmosphere. It will land in north Chinas Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region.
Read more

Blobrana · L

China's biggest moon challenge: returning to Earth

China's lunar probe, Chang'e-5, will be launched around 2017 and its mission to collect samples from the moon and return to earth is the most challenging yet, according to Wu Weiren, chief designer of China's lunar exploration program.
Read more