China's Chang'e 5 space module has left the moon after completing its mission to gather rock samples, the official Chinese new agency Xinhua reports.
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The lander is expected to connect with a spacecraft which will then take it out of the moon's orbit and return it to earth in the next few days.
The space module landed on the moon on Tuesday and started to scoop up rock samples on Wednesday, state media reported.
The Chinese mission aims to bring moon samples back to earth for the first time in 44 years.
The only other countries to have done so are the United States and the Soviet Union.
Chang'e 5, named after the Chinese goddess of the moon, was launched in late November from the space port in Wenchang on the southern Chinese island of Hainan.
Chinese probes have already landed successfully on the moon twice before.
The Chang'e 5 mission aims to bring about 2kg of material back to earth.
Researchers hope the samples will provide new information about the volcanic activity of the moon.
The US Apollo missions brought back about 380kg of lunar rock.
The Soviet Union collected 300g.
China's ambitious space program also includes building its own space station by 2022 and sending an exploration mission to Jupiter by 2029.
Australian Associated Press