Leonard David's INSIDE OUTER SPACE

Credit: New China TV/Inside Outer Space screengrab

China’s Chang’e-5 lunar sample return mission has braked itself into Moon orbit on Saturday, one small robotic step to land, collect, and then deliver back to Earth lunar samples.

China’s Chang’e-5 lunar mission will attempt to haul back to Earth samples of the Moon.
Credit: CNSA/CLEP

According to the China National Space Administration (CNSA) after the Moon probe had flown about 112 hours from Earth, an engine on the probe ignited when it was 400 kilometers away from the surface of the Moon and shut down after a burn of 17 minutes.

The orbit period of the craft – comprising an orbiter, a lander, an ascender, and a returner — is roughly eight hours.

After orbiting the Moon three times, which takes about one day, the Chang’e-5 will start braking a second time to enter lunar orbit with a perilune (low point above the Moon) of 200 kilometers, explained Meng Zhanfeng, design director of the Chang’e-5 probe in an interview with China’s China Central Television (CCTV).

Credit: New China/Screengrab

Busy time

Afterward, the Chang’e-5 will face its busiest time.

At a designated time, Chang’e-5’s lander-ascender combination will separate from the orbiter-returner combination. Some China space insiders are suggesting a possible landing time of 4:30 AM, November 30 (Beijing Time).

While the orbiter-returner combination continues traveling along the orbit and prepares for a later docking, the lander-ascender combination will implement a soft landing on the near side of the Moon and carry out automatic sampling as planned.

Ascender departs lunar surface with samples. Credit: New China TV/Inside Outer Space screengrab

Important tasks

“The sampling and preparation for take-off will be carried out within 48 hours after landing on the Moon,” said Liu Jiangang, chief dispatcher of the Chang’e-5 mission Beijing base.

“After taking off, the lander-ascender combination will conduct four remote-control operations to reach a position for docking, then it will dock with the orbiter-returner to transfer the samples. There will be dozens of important tasks that need to be done within a week,” Liu told CCTV.