China - NON-MILITARY space activities & Space Industry

[samsara]

From Henri Kenhmann at East Pendulum on 2020.12.14:

The NOTAM A4289 / 20 appears to suggest that the Chang'e-5 probe's return capsule will land on 17 December between 1:32 a.m. and 2:07 a.m. Beijing time, in an area of the Siziwang Banner 四子王旗，Inner Mongolia.

https://twitter.com/x/status/1338178666744803328

Then T. Marshall Eubanks @TM_Eubanks commented there:

“Siziwang Banner was not chosen at random:

About 60 km north of Wulanhua (the county seat of the Siziwang Banner) is pasture land called Amugulang (Town) in Honggor Sumu. This is the primary landing site for manned Shenzhou spacecraft. A specially constructed road runs from Wulanhua to Honggor, to support Shenzhou recovery.”


T. Marshall Eubanks is a physicist & VLBI radio astronomer, founder of Asteroid Initiatives after working at JPL, the USNO & private industry. Asteroid 6696 is named in his honor.

 

[samsara]

From Scott Tilley @coastal8049 on 2020.12.14:

#Change5 mission event update. Timings of upcoming events are very rough estimates based on comparison of images leaked and NOTAM for final re-entry window. We don't so far have leaked info with solid timings.

Corrected table:

https://twitter.com/x/status/1338338412768550914

A bit earlier tweet..

#Change5 may have performed it's first Earth bound TCM-1 (trajectory correction maneuver) at approximately 2020-12-14T02:00 UTC.

https://twitter.com/x/status/1338324468700041218

CORRECT INFO:

The Chang'e-5 probe completed the first lunar-earth transfer orbit correction

Posted by China Aerospace Science and Technology Group 2020-12-14

At 11:13 on December 14, Beijing time, the two 25N engines on the chang'e-5 orbiter and reentrant combination worked for about 28 seconds, successfully completing the first lunar earth transfer orbit correction.

At present, the systems of the chang'e-5 orbiter and the reentry vehicle are in good condition.

嫦娥五号探测器完成第一次月地转移轨道修正 (qq.com)

 

[LKJ86]

Chang'e-5 completes first orbital correction en route to Earth - Xinhua | English.news.cn

Chang'e-5 completes first orbital correction en route to Earth
Source: Xinhua | 2020-12-14 12:36:22 | Editor: huaxia

BEIJING, Dec. 14 (Xinhua) -- China's Chang'e-5 probe on Monday completed its first orbital correction en route to Earth, according to the China National Space Administration (CNSA).

The orbital correction was conducted at 11:13 a.m. (Beijing Time) when the two 25N engines on the orbiter-returner combination were operational for about 28 seconds.

The CNSA said all systems on the orbiter-returner combination that carries lunar samples are currently in good condition.

The orbiter-returner combination entered the moon-Earth transfer orbit on Sunday.

When the time is right, the orbiter and returner will separate from one another, according to the CNSA. The probe's returner is expected to land at the Siziwang Banner in north China's Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region in mid-December.

Chang'e-5 is one of the most complicated and challenging missions in China's aerospace history. It is also the world's first moon-sample mission in more than 40 years.

The probe, comprising an orbiter, a lander, an ascender and a returner, was launched on Nov. 24, and its lander-ascender combination touched down on the north of the Mons Rumker in Oceanus Procellarum, also known as the Ocean of Storms, on the near side of the moon on Dec. 1.

 

[samsara]

From Andrew Jones @AJ_FI on 2020.12.15:

It's cold at Siziwang Banner, the area in Inner Mongolia in which the Chang'e-5 reentry capsule is expected to land tomorrow (between 17:32-18:07 UTC Dec. 16), but it seems the search and recovery team is very much ready. [i: OurSpace]

https://twitter.com/x/status/1338801123583537152

 

[LKJ86]

North China readies for homecoming of Chang'e-5's capsule - Xinhua | English.news.cn

North China readies for homecoming of Chang'e-5's capsule
Source: Xinhua | 2020-12-15 22:11:37 | Editor: huaxia

BEIJING, Dec. 15 (Xinhua) -- As the Chang'e-5 probe will bring moon samples back to Earth, its preset landing site in Siziwang Banner in north China's Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region is ready for its return, according to the search and retrieval team of the mission on Tuesday.

To meet the challenges brought by harsh weather, heavy snow, the small size of the return capsule and the special returning method, the search and retrieval team in the landing site has conducted several drills to test its night-time searching abilities and equipment performance.

The return capsule of Chang'e-5 probe is only one-seventh the size of the return capsule of China's manned spaceship, however, its landing area is 16 times larger, adding difficulties to the search mission.

According to Bian Hancheng from the search team, the probe on the Chang'e-5 return capsule will adopt a skip reentry method mimicking a skipping stone, which will make it difficult to control and result in a particularly large retrieval area.

The search team has taken many technical measures to face those challenges. The processed radar data will be sent to the helicopters and vehicles to guide them in the retrieval of the capsule.

The team also conducted nearly 30 terrain surveys of the landing area.

Chang'e-5 is one of the most complicated and challenging missions in China's aerospace history. It is also the world's first moon-sample mission in more than 40 years.

The Chang'e-5 probe, comprising of an orbiter, lander, ascender and a returner, was launched on Nov. 24, and its lander-ascender combination touched down on the north of the Mons Rumker in Oceanus Procellarum, also known as the Ocean of Storms, on the near side of the moon on Dec. 1.

The returner of the probe is expected to land at the Siziwang Banner in north China's Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region in mid-December.

 

[samsara]

Ground Teams Ready For Landing Of Chang'e 5 Probe's Returner

China's ground teams are ready for the landing of Chang'e-5 probe's returner at the Siziwang Banner in north China's Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region after comprehensive trainings simulating various conditions.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

[直播]嫦娥五号返回特别报道 [Live]Chang'e-5 Reentry Special Report

Link may possibly be conducting LIVE STREAMING... will start soon

 

[Deino]

In a few minutes or just that moment

https://twitter.com/x/status/1339214276335058945

https://twitter.com/x/status/1339258787006468099

LIVE: Chinese CE-5-T1 (Chang'e 5 precursor) - CZ-3C/G2, Xichang - Oct. 23, 2014

LIVE: Chinese CE-5-T1 (Chang'e 5 precursor) - CZ-3C/G2, Xichang - Oct. 23, 2014

forum.nasaspaceflight.com

PS Update:

https://twitter.com/x/status/528364429784543232

 

[Deino]

Livestream:

https://twitter.com/x/status/1339262077647654917

 

[Deino]

Congrats!

https://twitter.com/x/status/1339278005701652480

 

[lcloo]

 

[CAPRICORN-88]

 

[samsara]

Chang’e-5 Reentry - Chinese spacecraft Earth return

China may be a late contender in the space race but the success of Chang’e 5 is a very important step that will move China closer to building a Moon base.

China is on the way to become a Moon power. The launch of the Chinese spacecraft Chang’e 5, which has left the earth on 24th november 2020 is a very important milestone, not just for the sample rocks it aims to collect, but as a test of the technology necessary to build a lunar base.

 

[sheik]

China's Chang'e-5 lunar probe successfully delivers moon samples to Earth | CNN

China has become only the third country in the world to successfully collect rocks from the moon.

www.cnn.com

China's Chang'e-5 lunar probe successfully delivers moon samples to Earth
By Jennifer Hauser and Zamira Rahim, CNN

Updated 8:54 PM ET, Wed December 16, 2020


(CNN)China has become only the third country in the world to successfully collect rocks from the moon.
In the early hours of Thursday morning Beijing time, the country's unmanned Chang'e-5 mission returned to Earth carrying the country's first moon samples, according to Chinese state media outlet Xinhua.
The samples were retrieved from a previously unvisited area of the moon, and are also the first samples to be collected by any country since the 1970s.
The returning capsule landed in Siziwang Banner, which lies north of China's Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, just before 2 a.m. Thursday Beijing time (1 p.m. ET Wednesday), according to China's National Space Administration (CNSA).

A Long March 5 rocket carrying China's Chang'e-5 lunar probe launches from the Wenchang Space Center on November 24.
The probe, named after the ancient Chinese goddess of the moon, first took off from the Wenchang Spacecraft Launch Site in Hainan on November 24.
It landed on the near side of the moon on December 1, on a massive lava plain known as Oceanus Procellarum, or "Ocean of Storms." According to NASA, this large dark spot could be a scar from a giant cosmic impact that created an ancient sea of magma.
The samples from this region could help scientists understand more about the moon's origins and foundations -- and set the foundation for more complex sample retrieval missions in the future, potentially on other planets.
After the returning capsule landed back on Earth, it will be airlifted to Beijing, where the capsule will be opened and the samples will be ready for analysis and study, according to Chinese state media news agency Xinhua. China will also make some of the samples available to scientists in other countries, said Pei Zhaoyu, a deputy director at the CNSA.


Only two countries have collected rocks from the moon. For China, it's just the beginning
Chinese scientists are already drawing up plans for future lunar exploration, said Pei -- including a project to construct a scientific research station on the moon.
"We hope to cooperate with other countries to build the international lunar scientific research station, which could provide a shared platform for lunar scientific exploration and technological experiments," Pei said, according to Xinhua.
China's achievement follows the United States and the Soviet Union, which both collected lunar samples decades ago.
In the Apollo programme, which first put men on the moon, the United States landed 12 astronauts over six flights from 1969 to 1972, bringing back 382 kg (842 pounds) of rocks and soil.
The Soviet Union deployed three successful robotic sample return missions in the 1970s. The last, the Luna 24, retrieved 170.1 grams (6 ounces) of samples in 1976 from Mare Crisium, or "Sea of Crises."

 

[samsara]

From Henri Kenhmann at East Pendulum on 2020.12.17:

The Chang'e-5 capsule's GNC system (Guidance, Navigation and Control) ensured the return to autonomous mode, without ground intervention. It adjusts the re-entry trajectory in real time according to the atmospheric parameters.

The landing point is located at N42°20'19" E111°26'20", near the theoretical point.

https://twitter.com/x/status/1339610928459890688

 

[samsara]

A historic picture for China's aerospace development -- Chang’e-5's returner capsule with Moon's sample at the Siziwang Banner, Inner Mongolia on 2020.12.17

Cool short footage showing the inquiring cosmic fox at the early seconds the capsule touched the land.

The Landing of Chang'e 5 return aircraft

https://twitter.com/x/status/1339497545437876224