Chang'e 5: Difference between revisions

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	'''Chang'e 5''' ({{zh\|s=嫦娥五号\|hp=Cháng'é wǔhào}}{{noteTag\|name=fn1\|1=Pronounced like '''Chang-Er''', which is also an alternative spelling for ].<ref>{{cite news\|title=Of mooncakes and moon-landing\|date=2020-09-27\|first=Gary Lit Ying \|last=Loong\|work=]\|location=Malaysia\|url=https://www.nst.com.my/lifestyle/sunday-vibes/2020/09/627612/mooncakes-and-moon-landing}}</ref>}}) is an ongoing robotic mission of the ]. It was launched on November 23, 2020 20:30 ] and landed on the moon on December 1, 2020, with an expected to return to Earth around December 16–17.<ref name="AJ23112020">{{cite web\|last=Jones\|first=Andrew\|date=23 November 2020\|title=China launches Chang'e-5 Moon sample return mission\|url=https://spacenews.com/china-launches-change-5-moon-sample-return-mission//\|accessdate=23 November 2020\|publisher=SpaceNews}}</ref><ref name=":0">{{Cite web\|date=2020-11-17\|title=China rolls out Long March 5 rocket to launch Chang’e-5 lunar sample return mission\|url=https://spacenews.com/china-rolls-out-long-march-5-rocket-to-launch-change-5-lunar-sample-return-mission/\|access-date=2020-11-18\|website=SpaceNews\|language=en-US}}</ref><ref name=":2">{{Cite news\|last=Myers\|first=Steven Lee\|last2=Chang\|first2=Kenneth\|date=2020-12-01\|title=China Lands Chang’e-5 Spacecraft on Moon to Gather Lunar Rocks and Soil\|language=en-US\|work=The New York Times\|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2020/12/01/science/china-moon-landing.html\|access-date=2020-12-01\|issn=0362-4331}}</ref> Chang'e 5 will be China's first ], aiming to return at least 2 kilograms (4.4 pounds) of ] and rock samples back to the Earth.<ref name='Ch 5'/> Like its ], the spacecraft is named after the Chinese Moon goddess, ].		'''Chang'e 5''' ({{zh\|s=嫦娥五号\|hp=Cháng'é wǔhào}}{{noteTag\|name=fn1\|1=Pronounced like '''Chang-Er''', which is also an alternative spelling for ].<ref>{{cite news\|title=Of mooncakes and moon-landing\|date=2020-09-27\|first=Gary Lit Ying \|last=Loong\|work=]\|location=Malaysia\|url=https://www.nst.com.my/lifestyle/sunday-vibes/2020/09/627612/mooncakes-and-moon-landing}}</ref>}}) is an ongoing robotic mission of the ]. It was launched on November 23, 2020 20:30 ] and landed on the moon on December 1, 2020, with an expected return to Earth around December 16–17.<ref name="AJ23112020">{{cite web\|last=Jones\|first=Andrew\|date=23 November 2020\|title=China launches Chang'e-5 Moon sample return mission\|url=https://spacenews.com/china-launches-change-5-moon-sample-return-mission//\|accessdate=23 November 2020\|publisher=SpaceNews}}</ref><ref name=":0">{{Cite web\|date=2020-11-17\|title=China rolls out Long March 5 rocket to launch Chang’e-5 lunar sample return mission\|url=https://spacenews.com/china-rolls-out-long-march-5-rocket-to-launch-change-5-lunar-sample-return-mission/\|access-date=2020-11-18\|website=SpaceNews\|language=en-US}}</ref><ref name=":2">{{Cite news\|last=Myers\|first=Steven Lee\|last2=Chang\|first2=Kenneth\|date=2020-12-01\|title=China Lands Chang’e-5 Spacecraft on Moon to Gather Lunar Rocks and Soil\|language=en-US\|work=The New York Times\|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2020/12/01/science/china-moon-landing.html\|access-date=2020-12-01\|issn=0362-4331}}</ref> Chang'e 5 will be China's first ], aiming to return at least 2 kilograms (4.4 pounds) of ] and rock samples back to the Earth.<ref name='Ch 5'/> Like its ], the spacecraft is named after the Chinese Moon goddess, ].

	This will be the first lunar sample-return mission since ] in 1976 and – if successful – would make China the third country to return samples from the ] after USA and USSR. It launched from the ] centre in ].		This will be the first lunar sample-return mission since ] in 1976 and – if successful – would make China the third country to return samples from the ] after USA and USSR. It launched from the ] centre in ].

Revision as of 17:57, 1 December 2020

Chinese lunar exploration mission

Chang'e 5
Spacecraft properties
Ignition of CZ-5 rocket carrying the Chang'e 5 probe

Mission type	Lunar sample return
Operator	CNSA
COSPAR ID	2020-087A
SATCAT no.	47097
Mission duration	1495 days, 21 hours, 3 minutes (since launch)


Manufacturer	CAST
Launch mass	8,200 kg (18,100 lb)


Start of mission
Launch date	November 23, 2020 20:30 UTC November 24, 2020 4:30 CST
Rocket	Long March 5
Launch site	Wenchang
Contractor	CALT


End of mission
Landing date	17 December 2020 (planned)


Lunar orbiter
Lunar lander
Landing date	1 December 2020
Landing site	Mons Rümker region of Oceanus Procellarum
Sample mass	2,000 grams (71 oz)

Chinese Lunar Exploration Program← Chang'e 4 Chang'e 6 →

Chang'e 5 (Chinese: 嫦娥五号; pinyin: Cháng'é wǔhào) is an ongoing robotic mission of the Chinese Lunar Exploration Program. It was launched on November 23, 2020 20:30 UTC and landed on the moon on December 1, 2020, with an expected return to Earth around December 16–17. Chang'e 5 will be China's first sample return mission, aiming to return at least 2 kilograms (4.4 pounds) of lunar soil and rock samples back to the Earth. Like its predecessors, the spacecraft is named after the Chinese Moon goddess, Chang'e.

This will be the first lunar sample-return mission since Luna 24 in 1976 and – if successful – would make China the third country to return samples from the Moon after USA and USSR. It launched from the Wenchang Satellite launch centre in Hainan Island.

Overview

Chang'e 5 launch

The Chinese Lunar Exploration Program is designed to be conducted in four phases of incremental technological advancement: The first was simply reaching lunar orbit, a task completed by Chang'e 1 in 2007 and Chang'e 2 in 2010. The second is landing and roving on the Moon, as Chang'e 3 did in 2013 and Chang'e 4 in 2019 (launched in December 2018, landed on the far side of the Moon in January 2019). The third phase is collecting lunar samples from the near side and sending them to Earth, a task for the Chang'e 5 and the future Chang'e 6 missions. The fourth phase consists of the development of a robotic research station near the Moon's south pole. The program aims to facilitate a crewed lunar landing in the 2030s and possibly build an outpost near the lunar south pole.

Mission profile

The Chang'e 5 consists of a service module, lunar lander, ascender, and a sample-return vehicle. This probe was planned to be launched in November 2017 by a Long March 5 rocket from the Wenchang Satellite Launch Center on Hainan Island; however, a July 2017 failure of the referenced carrier rocket forced a delay to the original schedule. On December 27, 2019, the Long March 5 successfully returned to flight operations, thereby allowing the current mission to proceed.

The Chang'e 5 probe was finally launched on November 23, 2020 at 20:30 UTC. On November 28 at 12:58 UTC, it fired its engine for 17 minutes and braked into a 400 km altitude orbit around the Moon. On the morning of November 30, the lander with the ascending vehicle separated from the lunar orbiter in preparation for landing. The lander and ascending vehicle landed on the moon on December 1. The mission's landing zone is near Mons Rümker in Oceanus Procellarum, located in the northwest region of the Moon's near side. This area contains geological units around 1.21 billion years old, compared to the Apollo samples that were between 3.1 and 4.4 billion years old. The location is a large, elevated volcanic mound 70 km (43 mi) in diameter that features a strong spectroscopic signature of basaltic lunar mare material. The young age of the samples is valuable to scientists who can use them to better calibrate techniques for estimating the ages of geological surfaces on planets, moons and asteroids throughout the solar system.

The mission is consists of four modules or elements: the lander would collect about 2 kg (4.4 lb) of samples from 2 metres (6.6 ft) below the surface and place them in an attached ascent vehicle that will be launched into lunar orbit. The ascent vehicle will make an automatic rendezvous and docking with an orbiter that would transfer the samples into a sample-return capsule for their delivery to Earth. The orbiter will begin the roughly 4.5-day trip back to Earth and release the reentry capsule just before arrival. If all goes according to plan the reentry capsule will perform a skip reentry to bounce off the atmosphere once before reentering.

The estimated launch mass is 8,200 kg (18,100 lb), the lander is projected to be 1,200 kg (2,600 lb) and the ascent vehicle is about 500 kg (1,100 lb).

The launch of Chang’e-5 from Wenchang occurred on November 24. Sunrise over Mons Rümker occurred on November 27, ahead of the landing.

Unlike Chang'e 4 which was equipped with a radioisotope heater unit to survive the extreme cold of lunar night, the Chang’e-5 landing and sampling need to take place within a single, 14-Earth-day lunar daytime. The total mission is expected to last a total of 23 days until landing in Dorbod Banner, Inner Mongolia, around December 16–17. Samples would then be transferred to specially developed facilities for handling, analyzing, and storing the lunar material.

Chang'e 5-T1

Main article: Chang'e 5-T1

Chang'e 5-T1 is an experimental robotic lunar mission that was launched on 23 October 2014 to conduct atmospheric re-entry tests on the capsule design planned to be used in the Chang'e 5 mission. Its service module, called DFH-3A, remained in orbit around the Earth before being relocated via Earth-Moon L₂ to lunar orbit by 13 January 2015, where it is using its remaining 800 kg of fuel to test maneuvers key to future lunar missions.

Lander payload

Sample-return mission

The lander will carry landing cameras, a panoramic camera, a spectrometer to determine mineral composition, a soil gas analytical instrument, a soil composition analytical instrument, a sampling sectional thermo-detector, and a ground-penetrating radar. For acquiring samples, it will be equipped with a robotic arm, a rotary-percussive drill, a scoop for sampling, and separation tubes to isolate individual samples.

International collaboration

The European Space Agency supports the Chang'e 5 Mission by providing tracking via ESA's Kourou station, located in French Guiana. ESA will track the spacecraft during the launch and landing phases while providing on-call backup for China's ground stations throughout the mission. Data from the Kourou station will help the mission control team at the Beijing Aerospace Control Centre to determine the spacecraft's health and orbit status. Chang'e 5 is expected to return to Earth around December 15, 2020. During the landing phase, ESA will use its Maspalomas station, located in the Canary Islands and operated by the Instituto Nacional de Tecnica Aerospacial (INTA) in Spain, to support the tracking efforts.

Footnotes

Pronounced like Chang-Er, which is also an alternative spelling for the goddess it named after.

References

Chang'e 5 and Chang'e 6. Gunter Dirk Krebs, Gunter's Space Page. Accessed on 9 January 2019.
"NASA - NSSDCA Spacecraft Details - Chang'e 5". nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov. NASA. Retrieved 16 November 2020.
Berger, Eric. "China Chang'e 5 probe has safely landed on the Moon". Arstechnica. Retrieved 1 December 2020.
^ Williams, David R. (7 December 2018). "Future Chinese Lunar Missions". NASA Goddard Space Flight Center. Archived from the original on 2019-01-04.
^ Andrew Jones (7 June 2017). "China confirms landing site for Chang'e-5 Moon sample return". GB Times. Archived from the original on 28 March 2019. Retrieved 17 December 2017.
Loong, Gary Lit Ying (2020-09-27). "Of mooncakes and moon-landing". New Straits Times. Malaysia.
Jones, Andrew (23 November 2020). "China launches Chang'e-5 Moon sample return mission". SpaceNews. Retrieved 23 November 2020.
^ "China rolls out Long March 5 rocket to launch Chang'e-5 lunar sample return mission". SpaceNews. 2020-11-17. Retrieved 2020-11-18.
^ Myers, Steven Lee; Chang, Kenneth (2020-12-01). "China Lands Chang'e-5 Spacecraft on Moon to Gather Lunar Rocks and Soil". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2020-12-01.
^ Chang'e 4 press conference. CNSA, broadcast on 14 January 2019.
China's Planning for Deep Space Exploration and Lunar Exploration before 2030. (PDF) XU Lin, ZOU Yongliao, JIA Yingzhuo. Space Sci., 2018, 38(5): 591-592. doi:10.11728/cjss2018.05.591
A Tentative Plan of China to Establish a Lunar Research Station in the Next Ten Years. Zou, Yongliao; Xu, Lin; Jia, Yingzhuo. 42nd COSPAR Scientific Assembly. Held 14–22 July 2018, in Pasadena, California, USA, Abstract id. B3.1-34-18.
China lays out its ambitions to colonize the moon and build a "lunar palace". Echo Huang, Quartz. 26 April 2018.
Foust, Jeff (25 September 2017). "Long March 5 failure to postpone China's lunar exploration program". SpaceNews. Retrieved 17 December 2017.
"Successful Long March 5 launch opens way for China's major space plans". SpaceNews. 2019-12-27. Retrieved 2020-11-25.
^ Andrew Jones 28 November 2020. "China's Chang'e 5 enters lunar orbit for historic attempt to return moon samples". Space.com. Retrieved 2020-11-28.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
"China's moon mission about to touch down on lunar surface". South China Morning Post. 2020-11-30. Retrieved 2020-11-30.
Zhao, Jiannan; Xiao, Long; Qiao, Le; Glotch, Timothy D.; Huang, Qian (June 27, 2017). "The Mons Rümker volcanic complex of the Moon: A candidate landing site for the Chang'E-5 mission". Journal of Geophysical Research: Planets. 122 (7): 1419–1442. Bibcode:2017JGRE..122.1419Z. doi:10.1002/2016je005247. ISSN 2169-9097.
Wöhler, C.; Lena, R.; Pau, K. C. (March 12–16, 2007). "The Lunar Dome Complex Mons Rümker: Morphometry, Rheology, and Mode of Emplacement" (PDF). Proceedings Lunar and Planetary Science XXXVIII. League City, Texas: Dordrecht, D. Reidel Publishing Co. Retrieved 10 March 2017. {{cite conference}}: Unknown parameter |booktitle= ignored (|book-title= suggested) (help)
^ "Chang'e 5 test mission". Spaceflight101.com. 2017. Retrieved 17 December 2017.
"十年铸器，嫦娥五号这些年". Weixin QQ. 26 November 2020. Retrieved 29 November 2020.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
"Chinese Long March Rocket successfully launches Lunar Return Demonstrator". Spaceflight101. Oct 23, 2014. Archived from the original on September 24, 2015. Retrieved October 30, 2014.
"China launches test return orbiter for lunar mission". Xinhuanet. Oct 24, 2014.
"Chang'e 5 Test Mission Updates". Spaceflight 101. Archived from the original on 24 September 2015. Retrieved 14 December 2014.
"ESA tracks Chang'e-5 Moon mission". www.esa.int. European Space Agency. Retrieved 19 November 2020.

Spacecraft missions to the Moon

Exploration
programs

American
- Apollo
- Artemis
- CLPS
- Lunar Orbiter
- Lunar Precursor
- Pioneer
- Ranger
- Surveyor
Chinese
- Chang'e
Indian
- Chandrayaan
Japanese
- Japanese Lunar Exploration Program
South Korean
- Danuri
Russian
- Luna-Glob
Soviet
- Crewed
- Luna
- Lunokhod
- Zond

Active
missions

Orbiters	ARTEMIS CAPSTONE Chandrayaan-2 Orbiter Chang'e 5-T1 (service module) Danuri Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter Queqiao 1 (relay satellite at L₂) 2 Tiandu-1 2 ICUBE-Q
Landers	Chang'e 3 4 SLIM
Rovers	Yutu-2
Flybys	ArgoMoon

Past
missions

Crewed landings	Apollo 11 12 14 15 16 17 (List of Apollo astronauts)
Orbiters	Apollo 8 10 Apollo Lunar Module Artemis I Chang'e 1 2 5 Chandrayaan-1 Chandrayaan-3 (propulsion module) Clementine Explorer 35 49 GRAIL Hiten LADEE Longjiang-2 Luna 10 11 12 14 19 22 Lunar Orbiter 1 2 3 4 5 Lunar Prospector PFS-1 PFS-2 SMART-1 SELENE (Kaguya, Okina, Ouna)
Impactors	LCROSS Luna 2 Moon Impact Probe Ranger 4 6 7 8 9
Landers	Apollo Lunar Module ×6 Chang'e 5 6 Luna 9 13 16 17 20 21 23 24 Surveyor 1 3 5 6 7 Vikram (Chandrayaan-3) EagleCam IM-1
Rovers	Lunar Roving Vehicle Apollo 15 16 17 Lunokhod 1 2 Yutu Pragyan (Chandrayaan-2) (Chandrayaan-3) LEV-1 LEV-2 (Sora-Q) Jinchan
Sample return	Apollo 11 12 14 15 16 17 Luna 16 20 24 Chang'e 5 6
Failed landings	Beresheet Emirates Lunar Mission Hakuto-R M1 Luna 5 7 8 15 18 25 OMOTENASHI Surveyor 2 4 Vikram (Chandrayaan-2) Peregrine Mission One
Flybys	4M Apollo 13 Chang'e 5-T1 Geotail Galileo ICE Longjiang-1 Luna 1 3 4 6 LunaH-Map Lunar Flashlight Lunar IceCube LunIR Mariner 10 NEA Scout Nozomi Pioneer 4 Ranger 5 STEREO TESS WMAP Wind Zond 3 5 6 7 8 PAS-22

Planned
missions

Artemis	Artemis II (2025) Lunar Gateway Artemis III (2026) Artemis IV (2028) Artemis V (2030) Artemis VI (2031) Artemis VII (2032) Artemis VIII (2033)
CLPS	Firefly Aerospace Blue Ghost (2024) IM-2 (2025) Lunar Trailblazer
Luna-Glob	Luna 26 (2027) Luna 27 (2028) Luna 28 (2030) Luna 29 (2030s) Luna 30 (2030s) Luna 31 (2030s)
CLEP	Chang'e 7 (2026) Chang'e 8 (2028)
Chandrayaan	Chandrayaan-4 (2027) Chandrayaan-5 (LUPEX) (2028)
Others	Hakuto-R M2 (2024) Beresheet 2 (2025) ispace M3 (2026) Lunar Pathfinder (2026) DESTINY (2028) Cislunar Explorers (2020s) CU-E (2020s) MoonRanger (2020s) Argonaut M1 (2031) International Lunar Research Station (2030s)

Proposed
missions

Robotic	ALINA Artemis-7 Blue Moon BOLAS Garatéa-L ISOCHRON LunaNet Lunar Crater Radio Telescope McCandless Moon Diver
Crewed	DSE-Alpha Boeing Lunar Lander Lockheed Martin Lunar Lander Lunar Orbital Station

Cancelled /
concepts

Missions are ordered by launch date. Crewed missions are in italics.

v t e Chinese Lunar Exploration Program
China National Space Administration Chinese space program
Missions	Chang'e 1 (Oct 2007) Chang'e 2 (Oct 2010) Chang'e 3 (Dec 2013) Yutu rover Chang'e 5-T1 (Oct 2014) Queqiao (relay satellite, May 2018) Chang'e 4 (Dec 2018) Yutu-2 rover Chang'e 5 (Nov 2020) Queqiao 2 (relay satellite, Mar 2024) Tiandu 1 and 2 Chang'e 6 (May 2024) Chang'e 7 (2026) Chang'e 8 (2028)
Launch vehicles	Long March 3A Long March 3B Long March 3C Long March 5 Long March 8
Facilities	Xichang Satellite Launch Center Wenchang Spacecraft Launch Site
People	Zhang Qingwei Ouyang Ziyuan Ma Xingrui Ye Peijian
Category Commons

v t e Chinese spacecraft
Earth observation	Double Star (joint with ESA) Fengyun Gaofen FSW Huanjing HY Jilin Shiyan SMMS TanSat Tansuo Tianhui Yaogan Ziyuan
Communication and engineering	Dong Fang Hong FH-1 Apstar APMT Asiasat ChinaSat ChinaStar HKSTG LGSP OlympicSat Qianfan Shijian Sinosat Tiantong 1 Tsinghua-1 Xiwang 1
Data relay satellite system	Queqiao and Queqiao 2 Tiandu 1 and 2 Tianlian Constellation
Satellite navigation system	BeiDou-1 BeiDou-2 Beidou-3
Astronomical observation	ASO-S CHASE DAMPE GECAM HXMT Kuafu Longjiang-2 Queqiao Lobster Eye Imager for Astronomy Einstein Probe (joint with ESA) SST SVOM Xuntian SMILE
Lunar exploration	Chinese Lunar Exploration Program Chang'e 1 Chang'e 2 Chang'e 3 Yutu Chang'e 5-T1 Chang'e 4 Yutu-2 Chang'e 5 Chang'e 6 Chang'e 7 Chang'e 8
Planetary exploration	Yinghuo-1 Chang'e 2 Tianwen-1 Zhurong Shensuo Tianwen-2 Tianwen-3 Tianwen-4
Microsatellites	Fengniao Xinyan
Future spacecraft in italics.

v t e ← 2019 Orbital launches in 2020 2021 →
January	Starlink V1.0-L2 (60 satellites) TJS-5 Jilin-1 Kuanfu-01, ÑuSat 7, ÑuSat 8 Eutelsat Konnect, GSAT-30 Starlink V1.0-L3 (60 satellites) USA-294
February	OneWeb L2 (34 satellites) IGS-Optical 7 Solar Orbiter (TechEdSat-10) Cygnus NG-13 Starlink V1.0-L4 (60 satellites) JCSAT-17 Meridian-M 9
March	SpaceX CRS-20 (Lynk 04) BeiDou-3 G2Q Kosmos 2545 / GLONASS-M 760 Starlink V1.0-L5 (60 satellites) OneWeb L3 (34 satellites) Yaogan 30-06 (3 satellites) USA-298 / AEHF-6
April	Soyuz MS-16 Noor Starlink V1.0-L6 (60 satellites) Progress MS-14
May	Chinese next-generation crewed spacecraft / Flexible Inflatable Cargo Return Module Xingyun-2 01, 02 X-37B OTV-6 / FalconSAT-8 HTV-9 EKS-4 LauncherOne†, Starshine 4† XJS-G, XJS-H Crew Dragon Demo-2
June	Starlink 7 (60 satellites) Starlink 8 (58 satellites)
July	Gaofen DUOMO Flock-4e × 5† Shiyan 6-02 Ofek-16 Apstar 6D Jilin-1 Gaofen-02E† USA-305, USA-306, USA-307, USA-308 Emirates Mars Mission ANASIS-II Tianwen-1 (Zhurong) Progress MS-15 Ziyuan III-03 Mars 2020 (Perseverance, Ingenuity) Ekspress-80, Ekspress-103
August	Gaofen 9-04 Starlink V1.0-L9 (57 satellites), BlackSky Global 7, BlackSky Global 8 BSAT-4b, Galaxy 30, MEV-2 Starlink V1.0-L10 (58 satellites), SkySat × 3 Gaofen 9-05 SAOCOM 1B Capella 2, Photon First Light
September	ION-SCV 001 (Flock-4v × 12), ÑuSat 6, UPM-Sat 2, Flock-4v × 14, Lemur-2 × 8, NAPA-1, SpaceBEE × 12 Starlink V1.0-L11 (60 satellites) Chinese reusable experimental spacecraft Gaofen 11-02 Jilin-1 Gaofen-02C† Jilin-1 Gaofen-03B × 6, Jilin-1 Gaofen-03C × 3 HaiYang 2C Huanjing 2A, Huanjing 2B Gonets-M × 3, ICEYE X6, ICEYE X7, Kepler 4, Kepler 5, LacunaSat-3, Lemur-2 × 4
October	Cygnus NG-14 (Lemur-2 × 2, SPOC) Starlink V1.0-L12 (60 satellites) Gaofen-13 Soyuz MS-17 Starlink V1.0-L13 (60 satellites) Starlink V1.0-L14 (60 satellites) Kosmos 2547 / GLONASS-K 15L Yaogan 30-07 (3 satellites) Flock-4e' × 9
November	USA-309 / GPS IIIA-04 ÑuSat × 10 EOS-01 / RISAT-2BR2, KSM × 4, Lemur-2 × 4 Tiantong-1 02 USA-310 / NROL-101 SpaceX Crew-1 SEOSat-Ingenio†, TARANIS† Landmapper-BC 5, SpaceBEE × 18 Sentinel-6 Chang'e 5 Starlink V1.0 L15 (60 satellites)
December	Gonets-M × 3, Kosmos 2548 / ERA-1 Gaofen 14 SpaceX CRS-21 (Nanoracks Bishop Airlock) GECAM A, GECAM B USA-311 / Orion 10 SXM-7 CMS-01 / GSAR-12R OneWeb L4 (36 satellites) USA-312, USA-313 Yaogan 33 CSO-2
Launches are separated by dots ( • ), payloads by commas ( , ), multiple names for the same satellite by slashes ( / ). Crewed flights are underlined. Launch failures are marked with the † sign. Payloads deployed from other spacecraft are (enclosed in parentheses).

v t e 2020 in space
« 2019 2021 »
Space probe launches	Solar Orbiter (Feb 2020) Hope (Jul 2020) Tianwen-1 (Jul 2020) Mars 2020 (Jul 2020) Perseverance rover Mars Helicopter Ingenuity Chang'e 5 (lunar sample return mission; Nov 2020)
Impact events	2020 China bolide
Selected NEOs	Asteroid close approaches 594913 ꞌAylóꞌchaxnim 2020 BX12 2020 CW 2020 CD3 (temporary satellite) (52768) 1998 OR2 2020 HS7 2020 JJ 2020 LD (163348) 2002 NN4 2020 OY4 2020 QG 2011 ES4 2018 VP1 2020 SO (space debris) 2020 SW 2020 SL1 2020 UA 2020 VV 2020 VT4 (153201) 2000 WO107 (501647) 2014 SD224 2020 XL5
Exoplanets	AU Mic b Gliese 229 Ac Gliese 414 Ab Ac Gliese 433 b c d GJ 1151 b radio emissions K2-315b Kepler-1649c KOI-456.04 Lacaille 9352 b c M51-ULS-1b OGLE-2016-BLG-1928 (rogue planet) Tau Ceti j (predicted) TOI-561 b c d e TOI-700 b c d TOI-732 b c TOI-1338 b TOI-1339 b c d TYC 8998-760-1 c WD 1856+534 b
Discoveries	Betelgeuse dimming FRB 180916 location and periodicity Radcliffe wave Ophiuchus Supercluster explosion PSO J03094+27 (distant blazar) 2MASS J1047+21 wind speed measurements SGR 1935+2154 (soft gamma ray repeater) HR 6819 black hole hypothesis PHL 293B ending of P Cygni profile hydrogen emission lines Swift J1818.0–1607 (young magnetar) GW190814 (announced) South Pole Wall GW190521 (announced) Phosphine detection in the atmosphere of Venus Water detection on the sunlit surface of the Moon
Comets	C/2019 Y4 (ATLAS) P/2019 LD2 (ATLAS) C/2017 T2 (PANSTARRS) C/2020 F8 (SWAN) C/2019 U6 (LEMMON) C/2020 F3 (NEOWISE) 2P/Encke 88P/Howell 156P/Russell–LINEAR
Space exploration	Spitzer retirement (Jan 2020) BepiColombo (Earth gravity assist; Apr 2020, Venus gravity assist; Oct 2020) OSIRIS-REx (sample collection from asteroid Bennu; Oct 2020) Hayabusa2 (sample return from asteroid Ryugu; Dec 2020) Chang'e 5 (lunar sample return; Dec 2020)
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