---
title: "Breaking: Chinese Lander Takes Off From Lunar Surface"
description: "China has confirmed that its Chang'e-5 lunar lander's ascent vehicle has taken off, bringing with it the first lunar samples since the 1970s."
date: "2020-12-03"
modified: "2020-12-03"
authors:
  - name: "Victor Tangermann"
    job_title: "Senior Editor"
    link: "https://futurism.com/authors/victor"
url: "https://futurism.com/the-byte/chinese-lander-lunar-samples-takes-off"
categories:
  - "Off-World"
  - "Space"
tags:
  - "chang'e 5"
  - "moon"
  - "the digest"
---

# Breaking: Chinese Lander Takes Off From Lunar Surface

![China has confirmed that its Chang'e-5 lunar lander's ascent vehicle has taken off, bringing with it the first lunar samples since the 1970s.](<https://futurism.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/chinese-lander-lunar-samples-takes-off.jpg>)
*\<em\>Image: CSNA\</em\>*

## WOW!

Chinese state news agency Xinhua [just confirmed](<https://spaceflightnow.com/2020/11/23/chang-e-5-launch-mission-status-center/>) that the Chang'e-5 lunar lander's ascent vehicle has taken off, bringing with it the first lunar soil samples to have been collected since the mid-1970s.

The return journey will take just shy of two weeks, with a landing expected in inner Mongolia around December 16 or 17.

https://twitter.com/AJ_FI/status/1334523025396559872

## Quick Trip

The spacecraft [landed on the surface](<https://futurism.com/the-byte/china-footage-lander-touchdown-moon-surface>) on Tuesday near the western edge of the near side of the Moon, after [launching on November 23](<https://futurism.com/the-byte/china-successfully-launches-lunar-sample-return-mission>) from the Wenchang Space Launch Site in China’s Hainan Province.

Just hours after landing, it [started scooping up samples](<https://futurism.com/the-byte/chinese-robot-mission-successfully-collects-moon-rocks>) from the surrounding gravel-like surface.

Scientists are hoping that samples from the Oceanus Procellarum region where the spacecraft landed will give new insight into the evolution and history of our closest neighbor, as the region is suspected to be several billion years younger than where Apollo astronauts first sampled lunar soil in the 1970s.

**READ MORE:** [Live coverage: Chinese sample return spacecraft takes off from the moon](<https://spaceflightnow.com/2020/11/23/chang-e-5-launch-mission-status-center/>) \[*SpaceFlight Now*\]

**More on the lander:** *[Chinese Lander Sends Back Color Pictures of the Moon](<https://futurism.com/the-byte/chinese-lander-color-pictures-moon>)*

## Author
I've been at Futurism since 2017, where my role has evolved to encompass design, writing, and increasingly editing. I've always been fascinated by space exploration and advanced transportation, which I've leaned into by interviewing luminaries in those fields while closely following the dimensions of policy and regulation that allow next-generation projects to succeed -- or, sometimes, to fail. I'm also keenly interested in the effects of generative AI on society, policies, and democratic institutions, as well as clean energy, physics and biology, and the vagaries of tech leadership. My work for Futurism has been cited by publications including Ars Technica, Gizmodo, PC Magazine, Jalopnik, Fox News, and the New York Post. I spent my childhood living in locations including Manila, the Philippines, and Geneva, Switzerland, attended McGill University, and now live in Toronto, Canada. Before Futurism I worked at AskMen and a small photography studio. In my free time, I'm an avid gardener, foodie, and craft beer lover, as well as a maker of artisanal hot pepper sauces. I have a magnificent dog named Freida.

### Author social links  
[Bluesky](<https://bsky.app/profile/vtanger.bsky.social>)