28 November 2020
Chang'e 5 probe decelerated and entered the lunar orbit at 22:58 BJT on 28 November 2020.
After flying about 112 hours from Earth, the 3,000-Newton-thrust engine on the spacecraft was activated. The engine shut down after about 17 minutes when the lunar probe was 400 km away from the surface of the Moon. The manoeuvre was smooth and successfully accomplished. There will be one more braking maneuver needed within the next 24 h to adjust altitude and orbit inclination before a successful Moon landing. When the time is appropriate, the lander-ascender combination will separate from the orbiter-returner combination, implement a soft landing and carry out automatic sampling as planned.
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