The International Astronomical Union (IAU) has approved China's application for naming eight new features on the moon around the landing site of the Chang'e-5 probe, totaling 35 features on the moon with Chinese names.

China's Chang'e-5 probe, launched last November and landed December 1, collected lunar samples and returned to Earth on December 17.

It was China's first attempt to retrieve materials from an extraterrestrial body and also the world's first lunar-sample return in over 40 years.

"The IAU Working Group for Planetary System Nomenclature has approved eight names for features on the Moon in the vicinity of the Chang'e-5 landing site: Mons Hua, Mons Heng, Pei Xiu, Shen Kuo, Liu Hui, Song Yingxing, Statio Tianchuan, and Xu Guangqi," the IAU statement said on May 24.

The names' origins are shown as follows:

Statio Tianchuan – Tianchuan means the ship sailing in the galaxy. According to the IAU naming rules, the landing site name has the prefix of Statio in Latin. 

Mons Hua – Mount Hua, one of China's Five Great Mountains in Shaanxi Province

Mons Heng – Mount Heng, one of China's Five Great Mountains in Hunan Province

Pei Xiu – Chinese geographer in the Jin Dynasty (265-420)

Shen Kuo – Chinese mathematician and astronomer in the Song Dynasty (960-1279)

Liu Hui – Chinese mathematician and writer during the Three Kingdoms period (220-280)

Song Yingxing – Chinese scientist and encyclopedist in the late Ming Dynasty (1368-1644)

Xu Guangqi – Chinese agronomist, astronomer and mathematician in the Ming Dynasty 

The mission also made several "first times" in Chinese history, including lifting off and entering the orbit on an extraterrestrial body, unmanned rendezvous and docking on moon's orbit, returning Earth with lunar samples, and setting up system for lunar sample storage, analysis and research. 

Check out more about the Chang'e-5 mission