China is starting an unmanned lunar mission with which rock will be retrieved from the earth’s satellite for the first time in more than four decades. At the Wenchang spaceport on the southern Chinese island of Hainan, a “Long March 5” rocket was refueled on Monday, which should bring the spaceship “Chang’e 5” on its way to Earth’s satellite. The news agency named Xinhua 17 as the starting window. 00 to 22.00 CET on Monday evening.

Bring rocks back to earth The spaceship, named after the Chinese moon goddess, is supposed to bring a lander to the earth’s satellite, drill holes and collect rocks should. In the event of a successful return, China would be in the USA and the Soviet Union in the 60 he and 70 years the third space travel nation to succeed in such a project. Most recently the Soviet “Luna 22” mission 1976 Moon dust brought to earth.

The 8200 kilogram heavy spaceship consists of four modules: the orbiter with the return capsule and the Landing device with the ascent level. The lander is said to be in the one named after the German astronomer Karl Rümker (1788 – 1862) named volcanic area “Mons Rumker”. It is located in the “ocean of storms” in the upper, left part of the earth-facing side of the moon.

Complicated mission The mission is considered to be one of the most complicated that China’s space travel has undertaken to date: For the first time, a Chinese ascent would start again from the moon, take rock samples and perform a docking maneuver in the orbit of the earth’s satellite before the Return capsule flies back to Earth. The landing will be on 16. or 17. December expected in Inner Mongolia.

It is only the second regular flight of more than 800 tons heavy rocket “Long March 5” after such a type launched the Mars probe “Tianwen-1” in July. At first there were problems with the engine of the new heavy-lift rocket, which had led to a postponement of the moon mission by three years.

The Chinese moon flight takes place 51 Years after the USA’s first manned moon landing on 21 . July 1969, when Neil Armstrong and Edwin “Buzz” Aldrin were the first people to step on the surface of the earth’s satellite. The USA put their manned lunar missions to “Apollo 17” in December 1972 a.

China is pursuing an ambitious space program with missions to the moon and Mars and the establishment of its own Space station. In January 2019 China landed as the first space travel nation with “Chang’e 4” on the relatively unexplored far side of the moon. A rover was exposed to continue exploring the surface.

(tiw)