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title: ""A landmark mission to collect rocks and dust from the surface of the…"
date: 2020-12-01
source: facebook
type: Archer T. Ships shared a link.
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# "A landmark mission to collect rocks and dust from the surface of the…

*December 1, 2020 · Facebook*

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[https://newatlas.com/china-lander-change4-moon-far-side/57858/?itm_source=newatlas&itm_medium=article-body](https://newatlas.com/china-lander-change4-moon-far-side/57858/?itm_source=newatlas&itm_medium=article-body){target="_blank"}
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\"A landmark mission to collect rocks and dust from the surface of the Moon is progressing as planned, with China's Chang'e-5 lander safely touching down on the lunar surface nine days after lift-off. If the next phases of the mission prove equally successful, it will be the first time lunar samples have been returned to Earth in 44 years.\
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The Chang'e-5 mission launched last week as the successor to the China National Space Administration's (CNSA) Chang'e-4 mission, which last year became the first spacecraft to touch down on the far side of the Moon. Chang'e-5 ups the ambition even further, looking to become the first spacecraft to retrieve dust and rocks from the Moon since the Soviet Union's Luna-24 spacecraft in 1976.\"
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