The Long March-5 Y5 rocket, carrying the Chang’e-5 lunar probe, takes off from Wenchang Space Launch Center, in Wenchang, Hainan province, China November 24, 2020. REUTERS/Tingshu Wang
MANILA, Philippines — The Long March-5, China’s largest carrier rocket, flew over Luzon as it headed to the moon after it was launched on Tuesday morning.
In a footage from China’s state-run CGTN Youtube channel on Tuesday, the rocket was shown passing over Luzon and the Pacific Ocean on its way to its orbit.
“We have data links from the ocean surface to the, I think it’s a space tracking ship, to the Bicol,” one of the resource persons could be heard saying in the video.
The Long March-5 was launched at 4:30 a.m. Beijing time from Wenchang Space Launch Center on the southern Chinese island of Hainan carrying the Chang’e-5 spacecraft.
China hailed the launch as a success.
The Chang’e-5 mission, named after the ancient Chinese goddess of the moon, will seek to collect lunar material to help scientists understand more about the moon’s origins and formation.
The mission will test China’s ability to remotely acquire samples from space, ahead of more complex missions.
If the mission is completed as planned, it would make China only the third country to have retrieved lunar samples, joining the United States and the Soviet Union.