Chang’e-5 mission returns color pictures of the Moon surface

China’s Chang’e-5 lander captured a panoramic colour photographic view that stretches from the lunar soil directly under its legs all the way out to the horizon.

The mission which touched down on Tuesday instantly began gathering samples of rock and dust to send back to Earth dispatched up to an orbiting spacecraft which arri8ve home as early as Thursday.

The two previous ventures  Chang-e3 and Chang’e-4 put down static landers and small rovers. The 8.2-tonne spacecraft stack was launched from Earth just over a week ago with a multi-module probe then split in two after going into orbit around the lunar body at the weekend.

The Lander is now using its instruments, a scoop, and a drill to identify and collect the best lunar samples.

It’s now 44 years since rock and dust was last returned from the Moon, with a total of 400kg picked up by American Apollo astronauts and the Soviet robotic Lunar Landers.

All these samples were very old over three billion years in age.

The Chang’e-5 targeted a high volcanic region called Mons Rumker, Samples from this location may be no more than 1.2 or 1.3 billion years old and should provide additional insights on the geological history of the Moon by using the chronometer on the inner Solar System planets.