China will use its unmanned lunar mission Chang'e-5 to bring soil samples from the Moon back to Earth. The country plans to launch the probe in December this year. It recently completed the Chang'e-3 mission, thereby concluding the second phase of the country's lunar program.

Wu Yanhua, deputy chief of the China National Space Administration, said that Chang'e-5, which will mark the start of the third phase of the program, involves bringing soil samples to Earth for further investigation.

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The mission will consist of various parts including the orbiter, the lander, the ascender, and the return vehicle. The samples will be collected by the lander and placed in containers in the ascender. The ascender will dock with the orbiter and the return vehicle. Eventually, the samples will be brought back by the return vehicle.

"The lander and ascender form a combination that will land on the moon to conduct unmanned sample collection mission," Ruan Jianhua, deputy chief designer of Chang'e-5, told CCTV. The return vehicle is scheduled to land in Inner Mongolia at Siziwang Banner. The same site was used for the landing of the country's crewed Shenzhou missions.

The first and second phases of the mission carried out activities such as orbiting and mapping the Moon. These missions took place in 2007 and 2010 respectively. Chang'e-3 carried out its soft landing in 2013. During the mission, it placed a lander and the Yutu rover on the surface of the Moon.

Authorities have not revealed the coordinates for Chang'e-5 landing. However, it is reported that the site has already been chosen and mapped for this purpose. China is fast fulfilling its space ambitions. The country is looking to probe Mars as well.

Chang'e-5 will mark the first mission to collect lunar soil samples since the 1970s. The mission is also expected to help lay the foundation for further ventures into deeper space.