China launches first spacecraft to take moon samples since 1970s

Pei Zhaoyu, spokesperson for Chang'e-5 Mission, ahead of the launch

Returning is one of the mission’s biggest challenges, as launching from the moon is more difficult than blasting off the Earth’s surface. 

“Problems like how to dissipate the heat, how to divert the flow [of exhaust], and how to control the lifting-off process are things we’ve never dealt with before,” Yu Dengyun, deputy chief designer of the lunar exploration project, told Chinese state media. 

The ruling Communist Party has invested heavily in its space program, a source of national pride and symbol of the country’s growing technological expertise and strength. 

A Long March-5 rocket carrying Chang'e-5 spacecraft blasts off from Wenchang Spacecraft Launch Site

China’s space achievements are advancing – last year, Beijing carried out the first landing on the far side of the moon and in July this year launched a robotic probe to Mars. 

The latest Chang’e-5 probe is among a slew of ambitious targets set by Beijing, which include creating a super-powerful rocket capable of delivering payloads heavier than those NASA and private rocket firm SpaceX can handle, a lunar base, a permanently crewed space station, and a Mars rover.

The Chang’e 5 mission has been planned for years, but the original 2017 launch date was postponed due to an engineering failure with the rocket meant to send the probe to the moon, according to state media. 

Scientists will study the moon samples, though some are to be stored in Hunan province, from where late Communist Party leader Mao Zedong hailed, according to state media.