Dossiers Space / Espace Back to previous selection / Retour à la sélection précédente Chang’e-5 Enters Orbit in Its Mission To Collect Lunar Samples 30 November 2020 EIRNS—After 112 hours of flight, Chang’e-5’s engine successfully ignited when the spacecraft was at a distance of about 400 km from the Moon. According to real-time telemetry from the spacecraft, the engine burn succeeded in slowing Chang’e-5 enough to be captured by the Moon’s gravity. The capture has to be done very precisely, and there is no second chance. At 8:23 pm Beijing time, Chang’e-5 fired its engine for a second braking maneuver, to lower its orbit from 400 to 200 kilometers and to circularize its orbit. It is now in position to separate and deploy the lander. It is expected that the landing will occur in three days. [mgf] Read also: China’s CGTN TV network put out a story and video clip on potential for the Moon’s rich helium-3 deposits to power life on Earth for the next “hundreds of thousands of years.” The story centers on an interview with University of Wisconsin Professor Emeritus of Nuclear Engineering Gerald Kulcinski. Could the moon help to fuel Earth?