Each the USA and the Soviet Union collected Moon materials all through the Space Race within the 1960s and ’70s, and US scientists are nonetheless finding out these samples right now. The US introduced again 382kg of lunar mud and rocks throughout this time, and the Soviet missions returned lower than half a kilogram.
The plan is for China’s Chang’e-5 robotic to deliver again 2kg of soil from the Moon. NASA’s science head Dr. Thomas Zurbuchen congratulated China on Twitter and urged researchers there to share the collected materials with the worldwide scientific neighborhood.
“When the samples collected on the Moon are returned to Earth, we hope everybody will profit from having the ability to research this treasured cargo that would advance the worldwide science neighborhood,” he mentioned.
Congratulations to China on the profitable touchdown of Chang’e 5. That is no simple job. When the samples collected on the Moon are returned to Earth, we hope everybody will profit from having the ability to research this treasured cargo that would advance the worldwide science neighborhood. pic.twitter.com/2xoKouf3dq
— Thomas Zurbuchen (@Dr_ThomasZ) December 1, 2020
Chang’e-5 took off for the Moon on November 23rd, and it’s scheduled to rejoin its return module by Thursday, in response to post-landing reports.
China has taken a eager curiosity within the Moon over the previous decade, and whereas that is its first sample-return mission, it’s truly the nation’s third lunar touchdown since 2013. Final yr, China’s Chang’e-Four grew to become the primary robotic to land on the far side of the Moon, and likewise the primary to grow plants in a lunar environment. Very similar to NASA’s Artemis Program, China hopes to ascertain a analysis facility and human colony on the Moon by the tip of the 2030s.
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