China becomes second nation in history to plant its flag on the moon

Beijing: A Chinese spacecraft departed from the moon on Thursday, leaving behind a sign of its trip on the lunar surface.

Hua Chuying, China's foreign ministry spokesperson, tweeted images of the nation's flag planted on the moon, while wishing the Chang'e 5 ship a safe journey back.

Chang'e 5's unmanned mission was the latest in a series that comprises the Chinese Lunar Exploration Program. Departing with a load of lunar rocks, the mission represented the first time a spacecraft tried to return moon samples since the Soviet Union did it in the 1970s.

NASA Associate Administrator Thomas Zurbuchen congratulated China on its landing which took place Tuesday.

"Congratulations to China on the successful landing of Chang’e 5," Zubuchen tweeted.

ALSO READ: PIL filed against corruption and mismanagement in BTC in Gauhati HC

CHINA MOON PROBE PREPARING TO RETURN ROCK SAMPLES TO EARTH

The tweet continued: "This is no easy task. When the samples collected on the Moon are returned to Earth, we hope everyone will benefit from being able to study this precious cargo that could advance the international science community."

NASA tweeted in November that it hoped China would share "data with the global scientific community to enhance our understanding of the Moon like our Apollo missions did & [sic] the Artemis program will."

The mission of Chang'e 5 has revived talk of China sending a crewed mission to the moon and possibly building a scientific base there, although no timeline has been proposed for such projects.

To support our brand of fearless and investigative journalism, support us HERE.

Download:                                                                  

The Inside Northeast app HERE for News, Views, and Reviews from Northeast India.

Do keep following us for news on-the-go. We deliver the Northeast