China’s Chang’e-5 probe prepares to land on moon

Beijing, Nov 30 : Chinas Change-5 probe is preparing for a soft landing on the moon to undertake the countrys first collection of samples from an extraterrestrial body, it was announced on Monday.The lander-ascender combination of the spacecraft separated from its orbiter-returner combination at around 4.

40 a.m.on Monday (Beijing Time), Xinhua news agency quoted the China National Space Administration (CNSA) as saying.Launched on November 24, Change-5 is one of the most complicated and challenging missions in Chinas aerospace history, as well as the worlds first moon-sample mission for more than 40 years.

The spacecraft is performing well and communication with ground control is normal, CNSA said.The lander-ascender combination will execute a soft landing on the moon and carry out automatic sampling.

The orbiter-returner will continue orbiting about 200 km above the lunar surface and wait for rendezvous and docking with the ascender.