China's Space Program: Yutu & Tianwen Rovers, Chang'e

[Randy W]

China Focus: China's lunar rover wakes up

China's moon rover Yutu is awake after its troubled dormancy but experts are still trying to find out the cause of its abnormality, a spokesman with the country's lunar probe program said on Thursday.

"Yutu has come back to life," said Pei Zhaoyu, the spokesman.

 

[Randy W]

Next in the series - and some long range plans

 

Chang'e V lunar probe to undergo return to earth test

 

According to China's three-step lunar exploration, lunar probe Chang'e V is expected to be launched in Wenchang, Hainan Province in 2017 by LongMarch V, the carrier rocket which is now being developed.

 

Chang'e V will be more complex than Chang'e III and will be able to grab samples of lunar rocks and drill holes on the lunar surface; samples will be brought back to earth.

 

Ouyang Ziyuan also said future exploration in the solar system will include the search for extra-terrestrial life, the origin and evolution of the solar system, solar eruptions, and other phenomena. China has already made its plans to explore Mars: a probe will land on Mars in 2020 and return with samples in 2030.

 

[Randy W]

China releases new pictures showing stunning details of moon’s surface

PUBLISHED : Tuesday, 02 February, 2016, 2:36pm

UPDATED : Tuesday, 02 February, 2016, 4:11pm

http://cdn4.scmp.com/sites/default/files/styles/486x302/public/images/methode/2016/02/02/eed271a4-c95e-11e5-868b-f448094ead18_1280x720.jpg?itok=wGnCJ4T5

http://www.scmp.com/sites/default/files/styles/486w/public/images/methode/2016/02/02/84c9a09a-c961-11e5-868b-f448094ead18_486x.jpg?itok=bJ6W805s

 

China has released new colour photographs of the moon, which show its surface in stunning detail.

 

. . .

 

The mission was launched on December 1, 2013, but the images were only just made available to the general public, in a rare display of transparency by the China National Space Administration (CNSA).

They show the moon’s grey, dusty surface, peppered with boulders and craters.

 

[Randy W]

but, of course . . .

 

 

If you were abandoned on a lunar plain somewhere, you'd want an official beer, too.

Edited March 4, 2016 by Randy W (see edit history)

[Randy W]

in the Nat Geo Aug. 4

 

China’s ‘Jade Rabbit’ Moon Rover Declared Dead

 

Goodnight, moon bunny. The "Jade Rabbit" lunar rover adored by millions on social media has died, Chinese officials announced on August 3.

According to China’s State Administration for Science, Technology, and Industry for National Defense, the Yutu rover that piggybacked on the Chang'e-3 lunar lander has stopped operating after more than two years on the moon’s surface.

 

[Randy W]

from the SCMP on Facebook - Pink floyd's album may have been premature . . .

https://www.facebook.com/scmp/videos/10156342607099820/

China launches satellite to explore moon

 

South China Morning Post

23 hours ago ·

 

Quote

China just launched a satellite to help explore the untouched dark side of the moon.

 

Edited June 27, 2021 by Randy W (see edit history)

[Randy W]

from the SCMP

 

Chang’e 4 to launch China’s bid to be first on dark side of the moon

• Lunar lander and rover spacecraft blast off on Saturday in challenging mission to explore moon’s lesser-known far side
• Success would significantly boost the standing of the Chinese space programme

 

Quote

China is making final preparations for the launch of its latest lunar lander and rover spacecraft, Chang’e 4, in the early hours of Saturday, which will be humankind’s first attempt to land on the far side of the moon.

 

. . .

 

“Saying Chang’e 4 is doing something that has not been tried before would be an understatement,” said Ye Quanzhi, an astronomer at the California Institute of Technology in the United States. “The landing area, the South Pole-Aitken basin, is the oldest basin on the moon, meaning that we could get first-hand information about the distant past of the moon.”

 

Aitken basin, discovered by the manned American spacecraft Apollo 8 in 1968, has a diameter of about 2,500km, while that of the moon itself is 3,400km.

 

. . .

 

The rover of Chang’e 4 will land on the moon in about two weeks’ time.

 

Edited June 27, 2021 by Randy W (see edit history)

[Randy W]

from the NatGeo

 

China just landed on the far side of the moon: What comes next?

The lander-rover combo touched down where no human or robot has ventured before. Find out what it's doing there, and what else is headed for the lunar surface.

 

The Chang’e 4 lunar probe being launched from Xichang in December. Reuters

 

In May 2018, CNSA launched a satellite called Queqiao into orbit around L2, a neutral point beyond the moon where the gravity of Earth and the moon cancel out the centripetal force of an object stationed there, effectively allowing it to park in place. Since Queqiao always has good sight lines to both Earth and the lunar far side, it will bridge the gap between mission control and the Chang'e-4 lander.

 

. . .

 

Unlike Chang'e-3, Chang'e-4 is carrying a "lunar biosphere" experiment containing plant seeds and silkworm eggs, as well as a low-frequency radio spectrometer that will let researchers study the sun's high-energy atmosphere from afar. This instrument has an extra trick: By pairing it with an instrument on board Queqiao, Chinese researchers can use the two as a radio telescope. The moon's far side is ideal for radio astronomy, since the moon blocks noise from Earth's ionosphere and human radio transmissions.

 

. . .

 

China has big plans for its lunar exploration program. Its next mission, Chang'e-5, will attempt to land on the moon's surface and return samples to Earth. If China is successful, it would be just the third country to send stuff back from the moon, and the second country to do so with robots. While details are slim, Chinese researchers outlining the country's post-2020 moon plans have also discussed sending humans to the moon and building a base there.

 

[Randy W]

China’s lunar probe sends first photo of dark side of the moon after historic soft landing

• The soft landing by Chang’e 4 marks the start of a historic survey of a lunar region that has never been explored
• The lunar craft, which carries a rover, landed at around 10.30am on Thursday, Hong Kong time

 

 

Edited June 27, 2021 by Randy W (see edit history)

[Randy W]

The rover has apparently been named Yutu-2

[Randy W]

from the People's Daily on Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/PeoplesDaily/photos/a.191212920930533/2308203315898139/?type=3&theater

People's Daily, China

12 hrs ·

Quote

A Chinese satellite currently in lunar orbit snapped this incredible image of the far side of the Moon, with a tiny Earth hanging out in the background. Captured on February 3rd, the picture offers a rare perspective of the Earth and Moon system together.

The image was taken by China’s Longjiang-2 satellite, which entered the Moon’s orbit in June 2018. This tiny probe was launched into space along with China’s Queqiao satellite, a communications probe that’s been critical for the country’s recent Chang’e-4 lunar lander. At the beginning of the year, Chang’e-4 successfully touched down on the far side of the Moon — the side that’s always facing away from Earth.

This is the first time that Longjiang-2 has captured the entire Moon and Earth in one shot.

Edited June 27, 2021 by Randy W (see edit history)

[Randy W]

A picture of China's lunar rover from NASA’s Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO) posted on space,com

 

https://www.space.com/43252-china-far-side-moon-lander-nasa-photo.html

 

 

 

NASA’s Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO) captured this view of China’s Chang’e 4 lander on Jan. 30, 2019. The area around the lander is enlarged by a factor of two relative to the native pixel scale; the bright speck between two arrows is the lander. The large crater in the center (just right and below arrows) is about 1,440 feet (440 meters) wide. (Image: © NASA/GSFC/Arizona State University)

 

The full image from NASA

 

Edited February 28, 2019 by Randy W (see edit history)

[Randy W]

from China Pictorial on Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/ChinaPic/posts/2054143851377660

No pictures with the post, however.

China Pictorial

5 hrs ·

 

China's lunar rover travels over 190 meters on moon's far side

China's lunar rover Yutu-2 has driven 190.66 meters on the far side of the moon to conduct scientific exploration on the virgin territory.

Both the lander and the rover of the Chang'e-4 probe switched to dormant mode for the lunar night on Saturday, according to the Lunar Exploration and Space Program Center of the China National Space Administration.

China's Chang'e-4 probe, launched on Dec. 8, 2018, made the first-ever soft landing on the Von Karman Crater in the South Pole-Aitken Basin on the far side of the moon on Jan. 3.

A lunar day equals 14 days on Earth, a lunar night the same length. The Chang'e-4 probe switches to dormant mode during lunar night due to lack of solar power.

During the fifth lunar day of the probe on the moon, the scientific instruments on the lander and rover worked well. A total of 6.6GB of scientific detection data has been sent to the core research team for analysis.

Source: Xinhua

 

Edited June 27, 2021 by Randy W (see edit history)

[Randy W]

from Abacus


China prepares its first Mars rover as the US sends its fifth

• China's Tianwen-1 probe will stay on Mars for about three months while NASA's Perseverance will rove the red planet for nearly two years

​

China’s Tianwen-1 rover will be on a mission to look for water and ice on Mars, exploring the atmosphere and soil. (Picture: Weibo)

 

The Tianwen-1 spacecraft will take off on a Long March 5 rocket in July or August and is expected to reach Mars in February, Bao Weimin, head of the Science and Technology Committee of the China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation, the space program’s contractor, told state broadcaster CCTV. A ground rover would then be released to explore the Martian surface.

It coincides with the US space agency’s fifth rover mission to Mars. NASA plans to launch its Perseverance rover on July 17, and land on the red planet on February 18.The two missions will be launched when Earth and Mars are at their closest point, so the spacecraft can make the journey in the fastest and most fuel-efficient way – this optimal positioning happens every 26 months.

. . .

China’s Tianwen-1 probe – named after an ancient Chinese poem, “Heavenly Questions” – has an orbiter to fly around the planet, and a lander that will release a rover to look for water and ice and explore the atmosphere and soil. The US Perseverance, meanwhile, will be looking for signs of life, and will collect surface samples to be brought back to Earth by a future mission.

China’s Yutu-2 robotic lunar rover was the first to land on the far side of the moon in January 2019. Its operation has been suspended while ground control preparations for the Tianwen-1 launch are under way. China will launch another lunar probe, the Chang’e-5, later this year to bring back samples from the moon.

 

 

 

[Randy W]

from the Sixth Tone. I think the UAE also launched a probe a few days ago which might make China the fourth country.

Mars Attracts: Chinese Probe Seeks Answers to ‘Heavenly Questions’

• If the Tianwen-1 mission is successful, China will become just the third country to put a rover on Mars.

 

 

 

Quote

A Long March 5 carrier rocket destined for the red planet blasted off Thursday from the Wenchang Space Launch Center in the southern Hainan province. If all goes according to plan, China will become the third country to land on Mars, after the U.S. and the Soviet Union.

 

The mission — dubbed Tianwen-1, or “heavenly questions” — was named after a poem by the ancient Chinese poet and politician Qu Yuan (340-278 BC). According to the state-run Xinhua News Agency, the name is said to “express the nation’s perseverance in pursuing truth and science.”

Tianwen-1 is an ambitious attempt by China to orbit, land, and rove on Mars, all on the first try. The craft is expected to enter Mars’ orbit in seven months; then the lander and rover will detach and touch down on the planet’s surface two to three months later. The rover will be active for around 90 Martian days (92 Earth days) and carry out various scientific tasks, according to an article astronomers from the Chinese Academy of Sciences published in Nature.

Meanwhile, the orbiter will remain in the atmosphere, circling the planet for around an entire Martian year (687 Earth days). During this time, it will relay signals to the lander and rover below, as well as collect additional scientific data.

 

 

Edited February 8, 2021 by Randy W (see edit history)