China has just put its Long March-5 launcher into position in preparation for launching a mission to bring materials back from the moon for the first time in forty years.
The Long March-5 was transported into position from its hangar to the nearby launch site at the Wenchang Space Base along the coast of the southern province of Hainan Island. China's Chang'e 5 lunar mission is scheduled to launch early next week. China will place a lander on the moon, which will drill two meters into the surface, collecting rocks and other debris to bring back to Earth.
For the first time since the US and Russian missions of the 60s and 70s, scientists will be able to study newly obtained lunar materials.
China's Chang'e 5 lunar mission
The Chinese lunar mission, named after the Chinese moon goddess, is among the most ambitious in China. The Chinese space program has been running ever since it sent a man into space for the first time in 2003. IS from the announcement only a year has passed for this new Chinese lunar mission.
China currently has a mission planned for Mars. And it has already placed a rover on the far side of the moon that is providing the first comprehensive measurements of radiation exposure from the lunar surface. Vital information for any country planning to send astronauts to the moon.
US law prevents the Chinese from collaborating with NASA. China is therefore excluded from the partnership with the International Space Station. This pushed it to work on its own space station and launch its own programs which put it in constant competition with Japan and India among Asian nations seeking to reach new heights in space.
China's lunar mission has proceeded cautiously, but has seen relatively few setbacks in recent years. The Long March-5, nicknamed “Fat 5” due to its bulky shape, failed in a previous launch attempt. The huge economic investment and a pool of technical and engineering talents from China seems to have made it possible to overcome most of the obstacles.
