16 December 2020
As the Chang'e-5 probe brings Moon samples back to Earth, Chinese scientists are expecting another package from the space trip: a variety of plant seeds that may bring bigger harvests. According to the Space Breeding Innovation Alliance, its space breeding programme was part of the lunar probe's payload. Seeds, including rice, orchids, alfalfa and oats, embarked on the round trip to the Moon on 24 November when the probe was launched.
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Chang'e 5 completed 2nd correction manoeuvre along the Moon-Earth transfer trajectory on 16 December at 9:15 BJT
15 December 2020
China's Chang'e 5 lunar probe, which is carrying about 2 kg of precious lunar samples, is about to reenter the Earth's atmosphere and touch down at the preset landing site at Siziwang Banner of North China’s Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region. All systems at the landing site are ready to deliver quality services to ensure the success of the last stage of the mission.
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What happened to Chang'e 5's four sisters: Chang'e 1 to Chang'e 4?
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Before Chang'e 5 landed on Moon, researchers simulated lunar surface on Earth
15 December 2020
As of 14 December, 21:00 BJT, planetary probe Tianwen 1 has been in space for 144 days and traveled more than 360 million km on its way to Mars. By that time, the space craft was more than 100 million km away from Earth and about 12 million km away from Mars. The Mars probe will likely be about 190 million km away from Earth when it reaches the vicinity of Mars.
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14 December 2020
Yuanwang 5 returned to its home port in east China's Jiangsu Province. It had operated for 82 days at sea, sailing over 18,000 nautical miles. During the voyage, it carried out maritime monitoring of the Chang'e 5 mission along with Yuanwang 6. Yuanwang 5 has operated at sea for 223 days in 2020, with total voyage measuring over 510,000 nautical miles.
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14 December 2020
The Ethiopian Remote Sensing Satellite-1, the African nation's first satellite, has been handed over to its Ethiopian operators, according to the China Academy of Space Technology, which designed and built the spacecraft. A delivery ceremony was held earlier this month in Beijing with participants from both countries.
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13 December 2020
At 9:51 BJT, the Chang'e 5 orbiter-re-entry capsule combination carried out its 2nd Moon-Earth transfer injection manoeuvre. Chang'e 5 was at 230 km distance from the Moon's surface when the four 150 N engines of the orbiter fired for 22 minutes. According to real-time monitoring data, the orbiter-returner combination entered the targeted return trajectory successfully. The spacecraft will conduct further flight path adjustments before separating the return capsule which will undergo skip re-entry and subsequent parachute landing.
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footage showing parts of the return flight and landing sequence (requires log-in)
14 December 2020
The Chang'e 5 probe made its 1st orbital correction on its way back to Earth. At 11:13 BJT, the two 25 Newton engines fired for 28 sec.