China becomes 2nd nation after the United States to plant its flag on the Moon’s land
For a very long time, China was attempting to compete with its rivalries in the space race and finally, it has achieved a milestone.
China became the second country after The United States to successfully plant its flag on the Moon. As per the reports of China’s space agency, Chinese spacecraft Chang’e-5 carried out the preset plan on the Moon’s Land. The pictures on China’s red flag with 5 stars were shared by the China National Space Administration (CSNA) on Friday.
The tradition of unfurling Flag was started by tHe United Nations when it first planted flag on the moon during the manned Apollo 11 mission in 1969 and five more flags were planted during subsequent missions till 1972.
Chinese spacecraft Chang’e-5 which was named after the Chinese moon goddess ‘Chang’e’ became the third Chinese spacecraft to successfully land on the moon and the first Chinese spacecraft to take off successfully from it.
Chinese spacecraft is all set to bring 2 kg (4.4 pounds) of the moon’s land samples. The sample will be used by the scientist to get information about the moon’s origin, geological evolution, lunar volcanic activity. It will also be used to find out more about the solar activities in the universe said the mission team. The Chang’e-5 will bring back the first lunar samples in four decades and China will become the third nation to successfully collect samples from extraterrestrial land. The first country to do so was the United States in the 1960s followed by the Soviet Union in the 1970s.
As per the reports, the spacecraft collect the samples from the area known as “the Ocean of Storms”. It is the most complicated and challenging mission in china’s aerospace history, it tools around 19 hours said China’s state-run Xinhua news service.
Chang’e 5’s lander drilled the surface 2 meters deep (about 6 feet) and collected rocks and debris from there. Collecting moon samples was the main task of the lander but it was also equipped with advanced technology to extensively photograph the area, map conditions below the surface with ground-penetrating radar, and analyze the lunar soil for minerals and water content.
The collected samples are expected to arrive in China’s Inner Mongolia region in a capsule containing a specially sealed canister to avoid contamination. The capsule with the samples is expected to land on Earth around the middle of the month.
The Chang’e-5 achievements is a good sign for Beijing’s ambitious space program, which also has an orbiter and rover heading for Mars.
In the apollo mission of the United States, the US sends 12 astronauts in over six flights from 1969 to 1972, who bring back 382 kg (842 pounds) of rocks and soil.
The last mission to collect moon samples was the Soviet Union’s Luna 24 mission in 1976.
China launched its first satellite in 1970,. Its first human spaceflight took decades longer — with Yang Liwei becoming China’s first “taikonaut” in 2003. China has further ambitions in this race to space and it aims to be the superpower in it. China also has plans to have a crewed space station by 2022 and eventually send humans to the Moon.