China’s Chang’e 5 mission has returned samples from the moon to Earth | New Scientist

The first samples of moon rocks to come back to Earth since 1976 have landed. On 16 December, the Chinese Chang’e 5 spacecraft brought back about two kilograms of lunar material after a quick mission lasting only about two days on the moon’s surface.

China's Chang'e 5 is bringing back the first moon rocks in 44 years | New Scientist

Chang’e 5 is on the last leg of its mission on the moon. After a visit to the lunar surface lasting less than 48 hours, it is back in orbit around the moon and ready to bring its samples home so that scientists on Earth can analyse them.

China's Chang'e-5 spaceship launches to the moon in mission to collect lunar rocks | Live Ruptly

The Chinese spaceship Chang'e-5 is expected to launch to the moon on Tuesday, November 24 (local time) from the Wenchang Satellite Launch Centre in Hainan.

Russia planning manned spaceflight to moon: Putin

Russia is actively implementing a lunar program through 2030, aiming to send astronauts to the moon, President Vladimir Putin said Thursday, Russia's Cosmonautics Day.

Trump signs directive sending US astronauts back to moon and eventually Mars

US President Donald Trump on Monday signed his administration's first space policy directive, formally directing the US space agency NASA to send astronauts back to the moon and eventually Mars.

Large asteroid to hurtle past Earth on April 18

An asteroid as big as the Rock of Gibraltar will streak past Earth on April 18 at a safe but uncomfortably close distance, according to astronomers.

China says its building new space capsule for low Earth orbit missions & Moon landings

China is developing a new spacecraft for missions in low Earth orbit and Moon landings, according to Chinese state media. Beijing is pursuing an independent space program, with the conquest Moon in the pipeline.

China enters new space era. New generation of rockets to boost space ambition

A re-entry module that was aboard the new Long March-7 rocket touched down successfully on Sunday afternoon in North China's Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region. The rocket blasted off from the Wenchang Satellite Launch Center in South China's Hainan Province on Saturday. Photo: CFP

Juliterre Gea news (July 2016)

Le relief des fonds marins, contrairement au sol lunaire, reste très peu connu, regrettent des experts internationaux à l'occasion mercredi de la Journée mondiale de l'océan, qui posera la question de leur place dans les politiques des gouvernements.

"C'est quand même un peu fort qu'on ne sache pas comment est fait le fond de l'océan aujourd'hui", peste Françoise Gaill, directrice de recherche au CNRS et coordinatrice du comité scientifique de la plateforme Océan et Climat, qui organise avec l'Unesco cette troisième journée dédiée aux océans.......Journée de l'océan: les fonds marins bien moins connus que le sol lunaire

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(June 2016)

Service module of China's lunar orbiter enters moon's orbit

The service module of China's unmanned test lunar orbiter successfully decelerated, allowing it to enter an 8-hour orbit on Sunday, according to the Beijing Aerospace Control Center.

Following instructions from the center, the service module conducted the braking at around 3 a.m. and entered the 8-hour elliptical moon orbit with a perilune of about 200 km and an apolune of about 5,300 km.

China's unmanned lunar orbiter returns home, first in nearly four decades

BEIJING, Nov. 1 (Xinhua) -- China succeeded Saturday in the world's first mission to the Moon and back in some 40 years, becoming the third nation to do so after the former Soviet Union and the United States.

The test lunar orbiter, nicknamed "Xiaofei" on Chinese social networks, landed in Siziwang Banner of China's Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region early Saturday morning.

Search teams have already recovered the orbiter at the designated landing area, about 500 kilometers away from Beijing.

Roscosmos suggests starting the creation of moon base elements and exploration robots

MOSCOW, August 11, /ITAR-TASS/. Russia's moon exploration plans have found reflection in a draft Federal Space Programme (FSP) for a 2016-2025 period, worked by the Federal Space Agency (Roscosmos). The draft FSP envisions that already in 2018 work will be started to develop the elements of a moon base and special-purpose technology that will be required for building it, the newspaper Izvestia writes referring to the document a copy of which it has available.

Izvestia quotes the draft Programme as pointing out that "The 'Manned Flights' avenue of research includes projects to bring into being an on-ground development complex as the prototype of a first-phase moon base consisting of four modules (habitation, laboratory, power, and modernised node) for comprehensive linkage and verification of the adopted architectural and technical solutions".

Reusable moon lander

China is preparing for the launch of an experimental recoverable moon orbiter, said the State Administration of Science, Technology and Industry for National Defense on Sunday.

The orbiter arrived in Xichang in Southwest China's Sichuan Province via air on Sunday and was transported to the Xichang Satellite Launch Center, according to a statement from the administration.

China Loses First Lunar Rover

MOSCOW, February 12 (RIA Novosti) – China officially announced the loss of its maiden lunar rover Wednesday due to technical problems.

“China's first lunar rover, Yutu, could not be restored to full function on Monday as expected,” the state-owned China News Service said.
In December, the 140-kilogram lunar rover, whose name translates as Jade Rabbit, made the first soft landing of any probe on the moon in nearly four decades.

Abnormality found on China's moon rover (video CCTV)

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Chinese scientists are preparing to overhaul its moon rover "Yutu", after an abnormality was detected as it went dormant.

The information was revealed by the country’s State Administration of Science, Technology and Industry for National Defence on Saturday.

China releases photos taken by Chang'e-3

Lander and rover ready to perform exploration tasks.

video cctv

This was the fifth time the rover and the lander took photos of each since they arrived eight days ago. Scientists in Beijing have been processing them and say scientific tasks can now begin.

"Ten pictures have been taken at five spots so far, and all of them are better than we expected. The rover has moved in a semi-circle around the lander. Afterwards, they will begin to conduct scientific explorations of the geography and geomorphology of the landing spot and nearby areas, and materials like minerals and elements there. 

Full video: Journey to the moon: Yutu separates from lander (3 video)

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China's "Jade Rabbit" separates from lander 
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BEIJING, Dec. 15 (Xinhua) -- 
China's first moon rover, Yutu, or Jade Rabbit, separated from the lander early on Sunday, several hours after the Chang'e-3 probe soft-landed on the lunar surface.
The six-wheeled rover touched the lunar surface at 4:35 a.m., leaving deep trace on the loose lunar soil. The process was recorded by the camera on the lander and the images were sent to the earth.

China launches probe and rover to moon (video cctvnews)

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XICHANG, Sichuan, Dec. 2 (Xinhua) -- China launched the Chang'e-3 lunar probe with the country's first moon rover aboard early on Monday, marking a significant step toward deep space exploration.
The probe's carrier, an enhanced Long March-3B rocket, blasted off from the Xichang Satellite Launch Center in southwest China at 1:30 a.m.
Chang'e-3 is expected to land on the moon in mid-December to become China's first spacecraft to soft land on the surface of an extraterrestrial body.
It is also the first moon lander launched in the 21st century.

China to launch Chang'e-3 lunar probe early Monday (video cctvnews)

A mission to land the first spacecraft on the moon’s surface in over 40 years is set to begin on Monday. China will send its Chang’e-3 probe at around 1:30am local time, from the Xichang Satellite Launch Center.

It’s the first time China has attempted a soft landing on any extra-terrestrial surface. Scientific data from the moon’s surface will be sent directly back to earth, and a telescope will be installed on the moon.