Mission record
Chang'e 5
Also known as Change5
China National Space Administration · Launched
Explore trajectoryCompleted · Success
China's first lunar sample return: a lander that drilled and scooped regolith in Oceanus Procellarum and delivered 1.731 kg of it to Earth.
- Destinations
- Launch vehicle
- Long March 5
- Launch site
- Wenchang, Peoples Republic of China
- Countries
- Peoples Republic of China
- Mission types
- Lander, Sample return
Chronology
Mission timeline
Launch
Chang'e 5 launched on a Long March 5 from Wenchang Space Launch Center
The page gives the time as "approximately 20:30:12 UT"; it is recorded at minute precision because the page qualifies it.
Milestone
Chang'e 5 began powered lunar descent
Landing
Chang'e 5 landed in the Mons Rumker region of Oceanus Procellarum
CNSA reports 23:11 China standard time (UTC+08:00), corresponding to 15:11 UTC. The earlier catalog value 15:13 UTC is retained as a source discrepancy in the flight review.
MoonMilestone
The ascender rendezvoused and docked with the orbiter and transferred the sample container
MoonImpact
The jettisoned ascender impacted the Moon
The page gives the time as "approximately 23:30 UT".
MoonSample return
The return capsule landed in Inner Mongolia with lunar samples
Mission architecture
Vehicles
Chang'e 5 orbiter · Orbiter · Carried the return capsule; continued independently after capsule release. Extended flight coverage is reviewed separately.
Destinations: Moon
Chang'e 5 · Lander
Destinations: Moon
Chang'e 5 ascender · Spacecraft · Carried on the lander, then independently launched from the Moon and docked in lunar orbit.
Destinations: Moon
Chang'e 5 return capsule · Return capsule · Recovered on Earth after sample transfer and release from the orbiter.
Destinations: Moon
Trajectory record
Time-dependent navigation trajectory
Source states place the model at the selected time. Reconstructed flight, estimates, predictions and historical mission plans are identified by interval; gaps remain visible.
Source records and sampling assumptions are retained with the repository data. Model attitude and surface appearance are illustrative.
- Chang'e 5 attached outbound stack: Project Pluto optical-fit Chang'e 5 outbound stack, 25 November 2020 before the second course correction; other phases uncovered. · November 25, 2020 to November 25, 2020
Provenance
Sources
Each source is listed once and labeled with the mission, event, trajectory, or destination/body context it supports.
Data verified through October 11, 2026
- Chang'e 5 - NASA NSSDCA Master Catalog — NSSDCAMission page · Supports: mission claims · event claims
- Yang et al.: Chang'E-5 descent and ascent trajectory determination — OTHERTechnical document · Supports: mission claims · event claims
- Wang et al.: Chang'e-5 radio and image-based lander localization — OTHERTechnical document · Supports: mission claims
- GRAS Chinese lunar exploration science catalog and original product descriptions — OTHERTechnical document · Supports: mission claims
- CAST: original four-component Chang’e-5 design and separation systems — OTHERTechnical document · Supports: mission claims
- CAST: Chang’e-5 docking, sample transfer and ascender release — OTHERTechnical document · Supports: mission claims · event claims
- CNSA: Chang’e-5 powered descent and actual lunar landing — CNSATechnical document · Supports: mission claims · event claims
- CAS: Chang’e-5 T1 service bus and return-capsule description — OTHERTechnical document · Supports: mission claims
- Chang'e 5 Project Pluto outbound optical orbit fit — OTHERArchive · Supports: mission claims
- DE421 lunar mean-Earth and principal-axes frame specification — NAIFTechnical document · Supports: destination/body context
- DE440 lunar mean-Earth and principal-axes frame specification — NAIFSpice · Supports: destination/body context
- IAU rotational elements and body radii (PCK 00011) — NAIFSpice · Supports: destination/body context
- LOLA global lunar height maps, LDEM_4 V3 original PDS source label — NASATechnical document · Supports: destination/body context
- LOLA 2023 south-polar elevation, uncertainty and effective-resolution maps — NASATechnical document · Supports: destination/body context
- Blue Ghost Lunar Lander Seen From Above: LROC site and terrain context — NASATechnical document · Supports: destination/body context
- Moon Facts — NASAOther · Supports: destination/body context
- SLDEM2015 Blue Ghost region: original PDS elevation-grid label — NASATechnical document · Supports: destination/body context
- JPL Solar System Dynamics Astrodynamic Parameters — JPLOther · Supports: destination/body context