China’s 2017 target is to land on the moon, scoop up some rocks and soil, and bring it all back to Earth (Image: CNSA)

China is planning to launch an uncrewed spacecraft on a quick jaunt around the moon, in a test of technology designed to return rocks from the lunar surface to Earth.

The Chang’e 5-T1 mission is set to blast off from the Xichang Satellite Launch Center in Sichuan, China, on 23 October. It will fly around the back of the moon and return to Earth – using a parachute to slow its decent through the atmosphere – about 8 days later.

It’s a precursor to a more advanced mission planned for 2017. This future mission will send a lunar orbiter that will release a lander to touch down on the moon’s surface and collect 2 kilograms of soil and rock. The lander will then blast off and dock with the orbiter for the return trip to Earth. China’s most recent moon mission, Chang’e 3, placed a lander and rover on the moon last year.


Chang’e 5-T1 will test China’s heat-shield technology, which is essential for surviving a high-speed re-entry into Earth’s atmosphere. The country is following a path blazed by other major spacefaring nations: the US sent humans to retrieve rocks during the Apollo moon landing missions, and the Soviet Union performed automated sample-return missions in the 1970s.

The spacecraft will also carry experiments to test what happens to bacteria and plants exposed to radiation beyond low Earth orbit. China has also partnered with a Luxembourg-based firm called LuxSpace to send a tiny spacecraft called the Manfred Memorial Moon Mission around the moon. It will ride on the same rocket as Chang’e 5-T1 and broadcast a ham radio signal for amateurs to tune-in to.