Chinese state television reports the return module of China’s Chang’e 5 lunar sample return mission has successfully landed back on Earth.

[link to spaceflightnow.com (secure)]

Quote:


A Chinese spacecraft ferrying rocks drilled from the moon’s surface is on course to land back on Earth Wednesday and deliver the first fresh lunar samples to scientists since the 1970s.

The Chang’e 5 mission’s return spacecraft is in the home stretch of a 23-day mission that successfully launched on China’s most powerful rocket Nov. 23, landed on the moon Dec. 1, collected samples, then took off again Dec. 3 to accomplish the first automated docking between two robotic spacecraft around another planetary body.

Chang’e 5’s ascender vehicle linked up with the mission’s return spacecraft Dec. 5, then transferred the capsule containing the moon rocks to the return craft before jettisoning and intentionally crashing into the moon Dec. 7.

With those steps completed, all that’s left is to bring the lunar samples back to Earth.