Chinese spacecraft achieves lunar orbit
DOI: 10.1063/PT.5.028559
Scientific American : This week China successfully put an unmanned service module into orbit around the Moon. The event was one of several steps in an extended lunar mission that was first launched in October 2014. The mission’s first success came eight days after launch when the service module released a prototype sample-return capsule that made a flyby around the Moon before returning to Earth. The service module then made its way to the Earth–Moon Lagrangian point L2—the first time a Chinese spacecraft has reached the L2 point—before continuing on to achieve lunar orbit. The module will collect data to be used in planning the Chang’e 5 mission, set for 2017, in which a robotic craft will land on the Moon and gather lunar rock and soil samples to bring back to Earth.
