The Chinese Space Agency’s Chang'e 5 lander has entered orbit after its November 23 launch and a 112 hour journey.
The lander will collect samples of some of the youngest moon rocks (1 billion years old) and return them to Earth. By contrast, the examples of lunar material collected by the United states and Russia are about 4 billion years old.
The planned landing site in the Sea Of Storms is the location of an ancient lava field. Equipped with sampling equipment such as a drill and scoop, the mission is scheduled to return about 4.4 kilograms of lunar material sometime between the 15th and 17th of December.
The mission is the first of its kind to the moon since the USSR’s Luna 24 lander, which returned 10 grams of lunar soil in 1976, and which remains the most recent sample returned.