China's Chang'e 5 lands on the Moon, collects first lunar sample

China has landed on the Moon again, and this time the country plans to bring home some souvenirs. Chang’e 5, China’s first sample-return mission, successfully touched down on 1 December near Mons Rümker, a lunar mountain located in the Ocean of Storms, or Oceanus Procellarum. The probe deployed its solar array and antenna soon after to begin its work.

- Mike Wall

Two pieces of the four-module Chang’e 5 mission hit the grey dirt after descent – a stationary lander and an ascent vehicle. If all goes according to plan, the lander will spend the next few days collecting about two kilograms of lunar material, some of it dug from up to two metres (6.5 feet) beneath the lunar surface.