Snapshots from Atlas 5 launch

SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket was poised for launch Wednesday at Cape Canaveral’s Complex 40 launch pad carrying more than 5,600 pounds of supplies and experiments to the International Space Station.

After launching Nov. 23 and arriving in lunar orbit over the weekend, China’s Chang’e 5 sample return mission landed on the moon Tuesday, targeting a volcanic region in the Oceanus Procellarum region. On Thursday, the craft’s ascender vehicle took off to begin the trip back to Earth, followed by a successful docking with the mission’s return vehicle in lunar orbit Saturday.

NASA awarded a $73.7 million contract Friday to the California-based startup Made in Space for a 3D-printing demonstration using a free-flying small satellite to additively manufacture solar array beams in space.