BEIJING (AP) — A Chinese space capsule bringing back the first moon rocks in more than four decades has begun its return trip to Earth.
The China National Space Administration says the Chang’e 5 lunar probe left the moon's orbit on Sunday to start its journey home.
The mission landed on the moon earlier this month and collected about 4.4 pounds of samples.
The return capsule is expected to land in northern China in the Inner Mongolia region.
The samples would be the first brought back since the Soviet Union’s Luna 24 probe in 1976.
