BEIJING: A Chinese probe sent to the Moon to bring back the first lunar samples in four decades successfully landed on Tuesday, Beijing's space agency said. China has poured billions into its military-run space programme, with hopes of having a crewed space station by 2022 and of eventually sending humans to the Moon.

The latest mission's goal is to shovel up lunar rocks and soil to help scientists learn about the Moon's origins, formation and volcanic activity on its surface.

The Chang'e-5 spacecraft -- named for the mythical Chinese moon goddess -- "landed on the near side of the Moon late Tuesday," state media agency Xinhua reported, citing the China National Space Administration.

If the return journey is successful, China will be only the third country to have retrieved samples from the Moon, following the United States and the Soviet Union in the 1960s and 1970s. The probe entered the Moon's orbit on Saturday after a 112-hour journey from Earth, Xinhua said, after a rocket carried it into space from China's southern Hainan province last week.