On November 24, China launched the Hang Nga 5 probe to collect documents to help scientists learn more about the origin of the moon.
The lunar lander is one of four robots in the Hang Nga 5 probe's mission.
The lander's robotic arm is programmed to drill approximately 1.8 meters into the lunar surface to collect 2 kilograms of moon rock and dust from a previously undiscovered area. It was a giant lava plain in the Oceanus Procellarum region, also known as the "Ocean of the Storm". These specimens may provide new information about the Moon's past volcanic activity.
The robotic arm will then transfer the specimen to a module located on top of the lander. Once the specimen is safely placed, the module will take off on the Hang Nga 5 probe currently orbiting the moon, and then the probe will carry the module containing the specimen back to Earth.
China state television CCTV said the country would begin collecting samples on the lunar surface in the next two days. The specimens will be brought back to Earth and landed in China's Inner Mongolia in mid-December.
Artistic image depicting the Hang Nga 5 probe that landed on the moon. Photo: CNSA.
If successful, it will be the first time a country has brought rock from the moon in more than 40 years. And China will become the third country to obtain lunar specimens after the US and Russia.
"This is a really daring mission," said David Draper, NASA's deputy chief scientist at NASA.
