China Launches Test Mission for Chang'e 5 Program

NASA Lunar Science Institute: The spacecraft will have a brief 8-day mission out to the Moon and back. China's test spacecraft enters expected orbit. Credit: CNSA China launched to the Moon today. The spacecraft will have a brief 8-day mission out to the Moon and back. It is an engineering test for the technology that the future Chang'e 5 sample return mission will need to return samples to Earth. On its return, the test spacecraft will approach the terrestrial atmosphere at a velocity of nearly...