The Chinese probe returned to Earth after flying around the moon

The Chinese probe returned to Earth after flying around the moon

The last lunar Chinese mission, which some people call Chang'e 5 T1, returned to Earth around 6 pm on Friday (6 am local Chinese time), completing an eight-day unmanned flight designed to test technology for future lunar missions.

Chang'e 5 T1 was launched on October 23 with the help of Long March 3C launch vehicle, and then circled around the moon, returned to Earth. The mission sent a test capsule to Earth’s atmosphere on Friday at a speed of 25,000 miles per hour (40,000 km / h). The capsule survived the fall and landed intact, as planned, in the north of China in the autonomous region of Inner Mongolia, according to Xinhua state agency. Chinese officials said that the data collected during the mission should help researchers design and build a capsule that will bring moonstones and samples to Earth. China plans to implement this mission by 2017.

China is currently embarking on an ambitious lunar exploration program, which began in 2007 with the launch of the Chang'e 1 lunar orbiter. Chang'e-2 was the next orbiter, which was sent in 2010, and in December 2013, the Chang'e-3 mission was able to land the first moon rover on the surface of the Earth satellite. ("Chang'e" is the goddess of the moon in Chinese mythology).

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