The four modules of the Chang’e 5 spacecraft
blasted off at just after 4:30 a.m. Tuesday (2030
GMT Monday, 3:30 p.m. EST Monday) atop
a massive Long March-5Y rocket from the
Wenchang launch center along the coast of the
southern island province of Hainan.
Minutes after liftoff, the spacecraft separated
from the rocket’s first and second stages and
slipped into Earth-moon transfer orbit. About an
hour later, Chang’e 5 opened its solar panels to
provide its independent power source.
Spacecraft typically take three days to reach
the moon.
The launch was carried live by national
broadcaster CCTV which then switched to
computer animation to show its progress into
outer space.
The mission’s key task is to drill 2 meters (almost
7 feet) beneath the moon’s surface and scoop
up about 2 kilograms (4.4 pounds) of rocks
and other debris to be brought back to Earth,
according to NASA. That would offer the first
opportunity for scientists to study newly
obtained lunar material since the American and
Russian missions of the 1960s and 1970s.
The Chang’e 5 lander’s time on the moon is
scheduled to be short and sweet. It can only
stay one lunar daytime, or about 14 Earth days,
because it lacks the radioisotope heating units
to withstand the moon’s freezing nights.
The lander will dig for materials with its drill and
robotic arm and transfer them to what’s called
an ascender, which will lift off from the moon
and dock with the service capsule. The materials
will then be moved to the return capsule to be
hauled back to Earth.