China to launch Moon mission to collect first lunar rocks in decades

It has been four decades since lunar samples were brought to Earth, and the Chang'e-5 spacecraft's bounty could have great scientific value

China plans to, as soon as Monday afternoon, launch a spacecraft to the moon’s surface that aims to be the first to bring back lunar rocks in more than four decades.

The mission, Chang’e-5, is the latest step in an ambitious space program that China hopes will culminate with an international lunar research station and ultimately a human colony on the moon by the 2030s.

The mission’s managers are fueling the Long March 5 rocket that will loft the spacecraft toward the moon. It could launch around 3:35 p.m. Eastern time (4:35 a.m. local time), according to the European Space Agency, which