Chang'e 5 landed "successfully" on the Moon.
Intended to collect samples of lunar rocks, the mission of the probe is the new stage of the Chinese space program, which struck a big blow in early 2019 by landing a machine on the far side of the Earth satellite, a feat never before achieved .
The Chinese probe, which left Earth on November 24, aims to collect around 2 kg of moon rocks, including digging up to two meters deep under a lava plain.
These samples will be taken from a much younger geological area than during previous Soviet and American missions.
The return of the rocks to Earth should take place by mid-December.
Chang'e 5 - named after a moon goddess according to Chinese mythology - is the first such attempt since the uninhabited Luna 24 mission, successfully carried out by the former USSR in 1976. The United States also had brought back samples of moon rock during the manned Apollo 17 mission (1972), but these had been collected directly by the astronauts.
This ambitious operation will also allow the Asian giant to test new technologies, crucial in order to send astronauts to the lunar star by 2030.
