China’s Mission to the Moon Returns With Samples to Study
- Spacecraft launched Nov. 24, touched down earlier this month
- Haul represents freshest lunar samples in more than 40 years
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The return capsule of China’s Chang’e-5 probe has come back to Earth, bringing with it the country’s first samples collected from the moon, according to a Xinhua report.
The development marks a successful conclusion of China’s three-step lunar exploration program, which began in 2004, of orbiting, landing and bringing back samples, according to the report.