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Chang'e 5

Image: China News Service · CC BY 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons

Planetary science

Chang'e 5

Active

CNSA

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Image: China News Service · CC BY 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons

Launched
23 Nov 202020:30:22 UTC
Active for
5 years 11 months
Destinations
Moon

A CNSA mission that returned 1,731 grams of lunar samples from Oceanus Procellarum in December 2020, the first brought back since 1976.

Milestones

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202120222023202420252026Today

Spacecraft

Chang'e 5 orbiter

Orbiter
Active

Orbiter that carried the return capsule back to Earth, then went on to an extended mission at the Sun–Earth L1 point and in a distant lunar orbit.

Launch mass
3,406 kg
Dry mass
950 kg
Size
2 m × 4 m
Power
Solar
Designator
2020-087A

Chang'e 5 lander

Lander
Completed

Lander that drilled and scooped the samples and served as the launch pad for the ascent vehicle that carried them to lunar orbit.

Launch mass
3,700 kg
Dry mass
1,000 kg
Size
2.2 m × 1.7 m
Power
Solar

Mission details from nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov.