China in final preparations for latest lunar mission

Flags with the logo of the Communist Party of China fly in the breeze near a launch pad at the Wenchang Space Launch Site (Mark Schiefelbein/AP)

Chinese technicians are making final preparations for a mission to bring back material from the moon’s surface in what would be a major advance for the country’s space programme.

Chang’e 5 is China’s most ambitious lunar mission yet. It marks the first time in four decades that any country has sought to bring rocks and debris from the moon to Earth.