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Russian space agency congratulates China on lunar mission’s ‘historic’ landing

A Roscosmos deputy director general wished the mission to fulfill its scientific program

MOSCOW, December 1. /TASS/. The Russian State Space Corporation Roscosmos congratulated China on the successful landing of the Chang'e-5 robotic Moon mission, Roscosmos Deputy Director General for International Cooperation Sergey Savelyev said on Tuesday.

"This is a truly historic event for China’s space program: for the first time in the country’s space research history, China National Space Administration performed a landing of a robotic sample-return mission to the Moon," Savelyev said.

He wished the mission to fulfill its scientific program in full by delivering samples of moon soil to the Earth.

The Roscosmos deputy director general said that lunar research remains a priority in all national space programs.

"Russia and China regularly discuss developing cooperation in this domain," he said.

The China National Space Administration announced earlier in the day that the Chang'e-5 lander-ascender module touched down the lunar surface near the peak of Mons Rumker, a mountain in the Oceanus Procellarum (Ocean of Storms) region of the moon. According to Chinese scientists, the area’s soil is several billion years old, and the study of samples retrieved from this zone will help scientists to gain a better understanding of how the Earth’s natural satellite was formed.