China: 
Chinese unmanned lunar orbiter ‘Chang’e 5-T1’, launched on October 23, 2014, made a safe return to Earth after an eight-day flight. The mission was a test run for an ambitious unmanned trip to the moon’s surface planned for 2017, according to state agency Xinhua.
The probe’s aim was to test technology set to be used in the Chang’e-5, a probe whose goal will be to gather samples from the moon’s surface and return to Earth, China’s State Administration of Science, Technology and Industry for National Defense (SASTIND) said.
Last December, China dispatched a rover on a one-way mission to the moon. Though plagued by technical issues, the rover, known as the Jade Rabbit, is still collecting data from the lunar surface.
On its way back to Earth, the craft, launched 8 days ago by a Long March rocket in western China, was travelling at a velocity of 11.2 kilometers per second, generating heat upwards of 1,500 degrees Celsius, reports Xinhua.
Beijing is planning to build a permanent space station by 2020 and eventually send a manned mission to the moon. China views the development of its space program as evidence that its star is rising. The return of the Xiaofei probe makes China the third nation, following the former Soviet Union and the US to complete a mission to the moon and back.
The successful test flight was a dress rehearsal for China’s Chang’e 5 lunar sample-return mission scheduled for 2017. It was the world’s first mission to the moon and back in about 40 years, with China becoming the third nation to do so after the former Soviet Union and the US.
Bureau Report
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