BEIJING (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 06th December, 2020) China's Chang'e 5 lunar ascent vehicle has successfully docked with the orbital module and has transferred the collected soil samples from the Moon to the Earth-return capsule, the Lunar Exploration and Space Program Center of the China National Space Administration (CNSA) said.
"On December 6, at 05:42 [21:42 GMT on Saturday] the Chang'e 5 ascent vehicle successfully docked with the orbital and return modules. In addition, at 06:12, it transferred soil samples to the return module," the CNSA lunar mission said in a statement.
The Chang'e 5 ascent vehicle successfully took off from the surface of the Moon on Thursday, after collecting samples of lunar soil.
On November 24, the Chang'e 5 lunar sample-return mission was successfully launched from the Wenchang Spacecraft Launch Center in Wenchang, in China's Hainan island province, using the Chinese heavy-lift launch vehicle Chang Zheng 5 (Long March 5).
The Chang'e 5 spacecraft successfully entered the orbit of the Moon last week. On Tuesday, it landed on the Moon and spent two days gathering soil samples using its drilling equipment and a robotic arm. The mission is expected to conclude around December 16-17.
The Chang'e 5 lunar mission is China's first-ever sample return mission. If fully successful, it will become the first lunar sample return mission to be completed since 1976, when the Soviet Union carried out the Luna 24 robotic probe mission to the Moon.
