经过科研团队的数据接收和处理，今天（12月4日），国家航天局公布了探月工程嫦娥五号探测器在月球表面国旗展示的照片。这是继嫦娥三号、四号任务后，五星红旗又一次展现在月球表面，同时也是五星红旗第一次月表动态展示。嫦娥五号着陆器和上升期组合体全景相机拍摄五星红旗在月面成功展开。北京时间12月3日，嫦娥五号着陆上升组合体在点火起飞前，进行了月面国旗展开。此次国旗展开是我国在月球表面首次实现国旗的“独立展示”。这次国旗展示，从打开到竖起仅耗时1秒钟，是由一套专门设计的国旗展示系统完成的。与“嫦娥三号”和“嫦娥四号”是在壳体上使用喷绘式的国旗不同，旗杆式的国旗在我国探月工程中是首次使用。这面国旗由国产特殊材料制作，重量仅12g。
由于宇宙中有着很强的电磁辐射，而且月球表面有正负150摄氏度的温差，普通材质的五星红旗一旦裸露在月球上，就会立即褪色、串色，甚至分解。为此，技术人员花费了1年时间来选择红旗的面料。
嫦娥五号着陆器和上升器组合体全景相机环拍成像，五星红旗在月面成功展开，此外图像上方可见已完成表取采样的机械臂及采样器。
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. 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.
12月3日23时10分，嫦娥五号上升器3000N发动机工作约6分钟，成功将携带样品的上升器送入到预定环月轨道。这是我国首次实现地外天体起飞。A Chinese spacecraft carrying the country's first lunar samples blasted off from the moon late Thursday, the China National Space Administration announced.This represented the first-ever Chinese spacecraft to take off from an extraterrestrial body.嫦娥五号探测器由轨道器、着陆器、上升器、返回器四个部分组成，于11月24日发射。肩负“落月挖土”重任的着陆器和上升器组合体于12月1日平稳着陆于月球正面风暴洋的吕姆克山脉以北地区。China's 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 1.12月2日4时53分，嫦娥五号着陆器和上升器组合体完成了月球钻取采样及封装。12月2日22时，嫦娥五号探测器顺利完成月球表面自动采样，并已按预定形式将样品封装保存在上升器携带的贮存装置中。点火起飞后，上升器经历垂直上升、姿态调整和轨道射入三个阶段，进入预定环月飞行轨道。随后，上升器将与环月等待的轨返组合体交会对接，将月球样品转移到返回器，后者将等待合适的月地入射窗口，做好返回地球的准备。After the samples were collected and sealed, the ascender of Chang'e-5 took off from the lunar surface, and is expected to complete unmanned rendezvous and docking with the orbiter-returner in lunar orbit, an unprecedented feat.Chang'e-5 is one of the most complicated and challenging missions in Chinese aerospace history, as well as the world's first moon-sample mission in more than 40 years.据悉，嫦娥五号任务一共持续20多天，总的来说是：一发、一落、一采、一升、一会、一回；其间还涉及探测器四个组成部分的多次分离组合。月面起飞后，接下来的高难度动作就是“一会”——月轨无人交会对接。