# China's Chang'e-5 mission

On Dec. 19, 2020, approximately 1,731 grams of samples from the moon were retrieved from the Chang'e-5 probe. Since then, the storage, analysis and research work of the lunar samples has been carried out accordingly.

The sixth mission in the Chang'e program, Chang'e-5, was one of the most difficult and challenging endeavors China has ever embarked on.

The probe achieved four significant "firsts" in Chinese space exploration: the automatic sampling of the lunar surface by probe; the first take-off from the moon's surface; the first unmanned rendezvous and docking in lunar orbit around 380,000 km away; and the first high-speed return to earth with lunar soil samples.

The entire world has been following the Chang'e 5 mission closely. According to journal Science: "The capsule's return marks the first time China has collected rocks from the Moon — and the first time any nation has accomplished the feat since 1976."