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China's Chang'e-5 reentry vehicle has begun its return to Earth phase that will take three days, China's National Space Agency said.
The spacecraft, which was orbiting the moon, fired four engines for 22 minutes to leave, the agency said.
On December 6, the Chang'e-5 takeoff module docked with the orbital and reentry modules. The lunar soil samples were loaded onto the reentry module.
The landing of the Chinese apparatus took place on December 1. Roscosmos noted that this event is historic for the PRC space program.
