<p>China successfully landed a spacecraft on the moon's surface on Tuesday in a historic mission to retrieve lunar surface samples, Chinese state media reported.</p>.<p>China launched its Change'e-5 probe on Nov. 24. The uncrewed mission, named after the mythical Chinese goddess of the moon, aims to collect lunar material to help scientists learn more about the moon's origins.</p>.<p>The mission will attempt to collect 2 kg (4-1/2 lbs) of samples in a previously unvisited area in a massive lava plain known as Oceanus Procellarum, or "Ocean of Storms".</p>.<p>If the mission is completed as planned, it would make China the third nation to have retrieved lunar samples after the United States and the Soviet Union.</p>.<p>The lander vehicle that touched down on the moon's surface was one of several spacecraft deployed by the Chang'e-5 probe.</p>.<p>Upon landing, the lander vehicle is supposed to drill into the ground with a robotic arm, then transfer its soil and rock samples to an ascender vehicle that would lift off and dock with an orbiting module.</p>.<p>State broadcaster CCTV said it would start collecting samples on the lunar surface in the next two days. The samples would be transferred to a return capsule for the trip back to Earth, landing in China's Inner Mongolia region.</p>.<p>China made its first lunar landing in 2013. In January last year, the Chang'e-4 probe touched down on the far side of the moon, the first space probe from any nation to do so.</p>
<p>China successfully landed a spacecraft on the moon's surface on Tuesday in a historic mission to retrieve lunar surface samples, Chinese state media reported.</p>.<p>China launched its Change'e-5 probe on Nov. 24. The uncrewed mission, named after the mythical Chinese goddess of the moon, aims to collect lunar material to help scientists learn more about the moon's origins.</p>.<p>The mission will attempt to collect 2 kg (4-1/2 lbs) of samples in a previously unvisited area in a massive lava plain known as Oceanus Procellarum, or "Ocean of Storms".</p>.<p>If the mission is completed as planned, it would make China the third nation to have retrieved lunar samples after the United States and the Soviet Union.</p>.<p>The lander vehicle that touched down on the moon's surface was one of several spacecraft deployed by the Chang'e-5 probe.</p>.<p>Upon landing, the lander vehicle is supposed to drill into the ground with a robotic arm, then transfer its soil and rock samples to an ascender vehicle that would lift off and dock with an orbiting module.</p>.<p>State broadcaster CCTV said it would start collecting samples on the lunar surface in the next two days. The samples would be transferred to a return capsule for the trip back to Earth, landing in China's Inner Mongolia region.</p>.<p>China made its first lunar landing in 2013. In January last year, the Chang'e-4 probe touched down on the far side of the moon, the first space probe from any nation to do so.</p>