Beijing, Dec 16 (PTI) China's Chang'e-5 probe completed its second orbital correction on the moon-Earth transfer orbit on Wednesday morning as part of preparations to return to earth, the China National Space Administration (CNSA) said.

The orbital correction was conducted when the two 25N engines on the orbiter-returner combination were operational for about eight seconds.

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The CNSA said all systems on the orbiter-returner combination are currently in good condition.

The orbiter-returner combination entered the moon-Earth transfer orbit on Sunday and completed its first orbital correction on Monday.

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The orbiter and returner will separate from one another at the appropriate time, according to the CNSA. The returner is expected to land at the Siziwang Banner in north China's Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region.

Meanwhile, the preset landing site in Siziwang Banner is ready for the homecoming, the mission's search and retrieval team said, state run Xinhua news agency reported.

The Chang'e-5 probe, comprising an orbiter, a lander, an ascender and a returner, was launched on November 24, and its lander-ascender combination touched down on the north of the Mons Rumker in Oceanus Procellarum, also known as the Ocean of Storms, on the near side of the moon on December 1.

China in recent years has emerged as a major space power with manned space missions and landing a rover in the dark side of the moon. It is currently building a space station of its own.

Chang'e-5, the third Chinese spacecraft to land on the moon, is the latest in a series of increasingly ambitious missions for Beijing's space programme.PTI KJV

(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)