Tag: Chang’e 4
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China publishes Chang’e 4 data one year after first landing on far side of the moon
The Yutu 2 rover is pictured on the far side of the moon soon after landing in January 2019. This image was taken by a camera on the Chang’e 4 mission’s stationary landing platform. Credit: CNSA/CLEP Chinese officials marked the one-year anniversary of the Chang’e 4 mission’s historic first soft landing on the far side…
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10 years since its launch, NASA lunar orbiter remains crucial for moon landings
Artist’s concept of the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter. Credit: NASA Scientists marked the 10th anniversary of the launch of NASA’s Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter on Tuesday, celebrating a mission that has greatly outlived its original one-year design life and continues taking high-resolution pictures to help U.S. companies and international space agencies select destinations for moon landers. LRO…
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NASA orbiter spots Chinese lander on the moon
NASA’s Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter captured this image of the Chang’e 4 lander and the Yutu 2 rover Feb. 1 from an altitude of 51 miles (82 kilometers). The Yutu 2 rover is annotated with the arrow on the upper left, and the Chang’e 4 stationary lander is annotated with the arrow at lower right. Credit:…
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China releases more images from far side of the moon
China’s Yutu 2 rover on the far side of the moon. This image was released by Chinese space officials Friday, Jan. 11. Credit: CNSA/CLEP Chinese officials on Friday released more imagery from the Chang’e 4 mission, a robotic lander and rover exploring the far side of the moon after a successful landing Jan. 3. The…
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China releases more images from far side of the moon
China’s Yutu 2 rover on the far side of the moon. This image was released by Chinese space officials Friday, Jan. 11. Credit: CNSA/CLEP Chinese officials on Friday released more imagery from the Chang’e 4 mission, a robotic lander and rover exploring the far side of the moon after a successful landing Jan. 3. The…
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Chinese rover begins exploring far side of the moon
China’s Yutu 2 rover drives off the Chang’e 4 landing platform on the far side of the moon. Credit: CNSA/CASC/CLEP A robotic Chinese spacecraft named Chang’e 4 braked out of lunar orbit and slowed to a controlled touchdown on the far side of the moon Thursday, a first in the history of space exploration. The…
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China launches historic mission to land on far side of the moon
EDITOR’S NOTE: Updated at 7 p.m. EST (0000 GMT) with additional details on the mission. A view of the far side of the moon and the distant Earth, captured by the service module for the Chang’e 5-T1 tech demo mission in 2014. Credit: Chinese Academy of Sciences A robotic lander and rover lifted off Friday…
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Chinese data relay satellite nears post over far side of the moon
Artist’s illustration of the Queqiao spacecraft. Credit: China Aerospace Science and Technology Corp. A Chinese communications satellite carrying a Dutch radio astronomy instrument launched last month is expected to maneuver into position around a gravitationally-stable point beyond the moon in the coming days, ready to relay telemetry and data between Earth and the Chang’e 4…
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China resumes launch campaigns after string of failures, delays lunar mission
A Long March 2C rocket launched Sept. 29 from the Xichang space center in southwest China, the first Chinese space launch since July 2. Credit: Xinhua The launch of three experimental remote sensing satellites last week signaled the resumption of Chinese space launches following multiple rocket failures since late last year, but a senior Chinese…
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China developing mission to return samples from far side of the moon
Illustration of the far side of the moon, with Earth in the background. Credit: NASA’s Scientific Visualization Studio If China’s lunar exploration program goes according to plan, scientists could send a robotic lander to pick up samples from the far side of the moon and return them to Earth by the early 2020s, a top…