What is the operational duration of the Chang'e 5 mission on the moon?

What is the operational duration of the Chang'e 5 mission on the moon?

• A. Up to one lunar day (two weeks)
• B. Up to three lunar days
• C. Up to one Earth year
• D. Indefinite

Answer: (A)

On the Moon, daylight lasts about two weeks and is followed by a roughly equal-length night. Chang’e 5 relied on solar power and did not carry a system to survive the extreme cold of the lunar night. Because of that, all surface operations—landing, sampling, and preparing the ascent—had to be completed during the daylight window. Once night fell, power and thermal conditions would prevent further active operations, so the mission’s on-surface activity was limited to the length of a single lunar day, about two weeks. The other options would require enduring the long lunar night or operating for far longer than the available sunlight, which the mission design did not support.

On the Moon, daylight lasts about two weeks and is followed by a roughly equal-length night. Chang’e 5 relied on solar power and did not carry a system to survive the extreme cold of the lunar night. Because of that, all surface operations—landing, sampling, and preparing the ascent—had to be completed during the daylight window. Once night fell, power and thermal conditions would prevent further active operations, so the mission’s on-surface activity was limited to the length of a single lunar day, about two weeks. The other options would require enduring the long lunar night or operating for far longer than the available sunlight, which the mission design did not support.