China's moon landing in moving pictures
China is currently drilling into the moon - drilling rock from the Earth's satellite. The last time this was done was 44 years ago by the Soviet Union. The landing of the "Chang'e 5" space probe was a success yesterday. Moving images of this and of the first drilling are available today.
While the world is talking about monoliths that some artists are (de)placing in deserts and elsewhere, something truly extraterrestrial is also happening. On Tuesday, 1 December 2020, China will land the "Chang'e 5" space probe on the moon. The goal: to collect rock samples. If the endeavour is successful and the moon rocks are successfully brought back to Earth, China will be the third nation in the world to do so. So far, only the USA and the Soviet Union have achieved this - most recently on 9 August 1976 with the Luna 24 probe.
China seems to be on the verge of achieving its goal:
Just after 3 pm GMT yesterday, Chang'e 5 - the unmanned space probe named after a moon goddess - successfully landed at its intended location in the lunar region Oceanus Procellarum. It was launched from Hainan Island on 24 November.
And now, as can be seen in the video alongside the landing, it is already collecting lunar material. The first borehole was even safely stowed away a few hours ago. A total of around two kilograms of rock samples are expected to be collected over the next two days or so before hopefully returning home successfully.
Moon rock has immense, if not priceless, value. Both for science and economically. At least when you consider that the sale of Luna 16 moonstone fragments weighing 0.2 grams in 1993 once generated proceeds of 442,500 US dollars.
A successful return of Chang'e 5, i.e. the landing in northern China, is planned for mid-December.
I find my muse in everything. When I don’t, I draw inspiration from daydreaming. After all, if you dream, you don’t sleep through life.