Chang'e -5 displays China's national flag on moon

Gif courtesy of the Chinese Communist Youth League

The China National Space Administration on Friday released an image showing China's national flag unfurled from the Chang'e-5 probe on the moon before the takeoff. The images were taken by a panoramic camera installed on the lander-ascender combination of the probe before the ascender blasted off from the moon.

This is the first time that China displayed a genuine fabric-made national flag on the moon.

The China National Space Administration releases an image showing China's national flag unfurled from the Chang'e-5 probe on the moon before the takeoff on December 3, 2020. /CNSA

In December 2013, the Chinese national flag, which was presented in the form of spacecraft's coatings, was recorded in pictures from the spacecraft's lander and its rover Yutu-1 took for each other.

In January 2019, Chang'e-4 lander and rover Yutu-2 brought China's national flag to the dark side of the moon, also in the form of spacecraft's coatings.