Tag: Chang’e 4
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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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Queqiao takes flight: China launches Chang’e-4 relay satellite to moon’s far side
News Brief: China today launched a satellite that will serve as the communications relay for a future probe on the moon’s far side. The satellite, dubbed Queqiao (Chinese for “Magpie Bridge”), lifted off from the Xichang Launch Center in southwest China atop a Long March 4C rocket at 5:28 a.m. local time Monday (2:28 p.m.…
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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…
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China aims for landing on moon’s far side by 2020
China’s Yutu rover is pictured in this view from the Chang’e 3 landing platform shortly after arriving on the moon in December 2013. Credit: Chinese Academy of Sciences/NAOC A rover and landing platform developed as a backup for China’s Chang’e 3 moon mission will be repurposed to attempt the first touchdown on the lunar far…