China completes first spacecraft meeting by docking in lunar orbit_English Channel_CCTV (cctv.com)



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Beijing, December 6 – On Sunday, the Chinese space administration (CNSA) announced that China’s ascending Chang’e-5 spacecraft has successfully met and docked with an orbiter-retractor combination in lunar orbit.

This is the first time Chinese spacecraft have encountered and docked in a lunar orbit.

Samples collected on the moon have shifted from ascending to returning, CNSA said.

The Chang’e-5 is one of the most complex and challenging missions in Chinese aerospace history and the world’s first moon sampling mission in over 40 years.

Chang’e-5, consisting of an Orbiter, Lander, Ascending and Returning spacecraft, was launched on November 24, and its lander-ascender combination landed north of Mons Rumker in Oceanus Procellarum, also known as the Ocean of Storms, on the near side of Moon 1 of December.

After the samples were collected and sealed, on December 3, the ascending Chang’e-5 took off from the lunar surface.

Then the returning from orbit will separate from the ascendant and wait for the right time to return to Earth.

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