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Chang’e 5

2013–2020: New Spacefaring Nations and Sample Return

Chang’e 5

First lunar samples returned since 1976.

Era 5 of 6 · full record in the catalog

Launch
23 Nov 2020
Lead / partner
China
Target
Moon
Category
Lunar sample return
Status
Success
Vehicle
Long March 5
Mass
8,200 kg
Orbit / trajectory
unknown

Why it happened

Chang’e 5 flew during 2013–2020: New Spacefaring Nations and Sample Return, as part of China's work toward moon. A sourced write-up of the context around this mission is still on the editorial queue; nothing here is invented to fill the gap.

The mission

The full narrative of this mission is pending research and writing. What is recorded so far: First lunar samples returned since 1976.

Results

First lunar samples returned since 1976.

Related missions

Chang’e 5 Chandrayaan-2 — same_target Chandrayaan-2 Artemis I — same_target Artemis I Luna 25 — same_target Luna 25 IM-1 Odysseus — same_target IM-1 Odysseus

Artemis I

Success

United States / international · 2022

Sources & image credits

  • China News Service, via Wikimedia Commons · CC BY 4.0 · license: cc-by-4.0 (source, checked 2026-08-24)
  • Mission record: AntarikshPedia canonical dataset (data-sources/missions_timeline.md)
  • Specifications reference: NASA NSSDCA Master Catalog