Science News Roundup: China launches robotic spacecraft to retrieve rocks from the moon; Small U.S. launch firm Rocket Lab recovers rocket, in test of reusability and more

The Long March-5, China's largest carrier rocket, blasted off at 4:30 a.m. Beijing time (2030 GMT on Monday) in a pre-dawn launch from Wenchang Space Launch Center on the southern Chinese island of Hainan carrying the Chang'e-5 spacecraft.

Following is a summary of current science news briefs.

China launches robotic spacecraft to retrieve rocks from the moon

China on Tuesday launched a robotic spacecraft to bring back rocks from the moon in the first bid by any country to retrieve samples from the lunar surface since the 1970s, a mission that underscores Chinese ambitions in space. The Long March-5, China's largest carrier rocket, blasted off at 4:30 a.m. Beijing time (2030 GMT on Monday) in a pre-dawn launch from Wenchang Space Launch Center on the southern Chinese island of Hainan carrying the Chang'e-5 spacecraft.

Small U.S. launch firm Rocket Lab recovers rocket, in test of reusability

Small launch firm Rocket Lab was able to safely recover from the ocean a rocket it sent to space, its chief executive said on Monday, a key test of the company's strategy to slash rocket launch costs via reusability. California-based Rocket Lab's 16th mission to space using its Electron rocket took off last Thursday from the company's New Zealand launch site, with its four-storey-tall booster stage returning back to Earth under parachutes for the first time instead of burning up in the atmosphere.

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