A Chinese space capsule bringing back the first moon rocks in more than four decades has begun its return to Earth.
The Chang’e 5 lunar probe left the moon’s orbit on Sunday morning by activating four engines for about 22 minutes, the China National Space Administration said in a social media post.
The mission landed on the moon earlier this month and collected about 2 kilograms (4.4 pounds) of samples.
In this China National Space Administration (CNSA) photo released by Xinhua News Agency, a simulated image of the ascender of Chang'e-5 spacecraft blasting off from the lunar surface at the Beijing Aerospace Control Center (BACC) in Beijing on Dec. 3, 2020. The Chinese lunar probe lifted off from the moon Thursday night with a cargo of lunar samples on the first stage of its return to Earth, state media reported. (China National Space AdministrationXinhua via AP)
The return capsule is expected to land in northern China in the Inner Mongolia region after a three-day journey. The material would be the first brought back since the Soviet Union’s Luna 24 probe in 1976.