China's Chang'e-4 probe soft-lands on moon's far side - Xinhua

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https://twitter.com/x/status/1197691164197052417

 

[JSCh]

China's Chang'e-4 mission team awarded Team Gold Medal by UK's Royal Aeronautical Society
Source: Xinhua| 2019-11-26 03:37:13|Editor: ZD

Members of China's Chang'e-4 mission team pose for a group photo with guests at the award ceremony of Royal Aeronautical Society (RAeS) in London, Britain, on Nov. 25, 2019. China's Chang'e-4 mission team on Monday received the only Team Gold Medal of the year awarded by Royal Aeronautical Society (RAeS) of the United Kingdom at its annual award ceremony held in London. (Photo by Ray Tang/Xinhua)

LONDON, Nov. 25 (Xinhua) -- China's Chang'e-4 mission team on Monday received the only Team Gold Medal of the year awarded by Royal Aeronautical Society (RAeS) of the United Kingdom at its annual award ceremony held in London.

The Team Gold Medal, presented to the Chinese delegation led by Academician Wu Weiren, the chief designer of the lunar exploration project of China, is the first award ever that was presented to a team from China by the RAeS since its inception more than 150 years ago.

After the award ceremony, Wu expressed thanks to the RAeS and the award committee, and welcomed more countries and organizations to cooperate with China to jointly contribute to the efforts by mankind to further explore the space and pursue scientific discovery.

The Chang'e-4 probe 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, 2019. The complete success of the Chang'e-4 mission created another milestone in the lunar exploration history of the humankind.

Founded in 1866, the RAeS is one of the oldest aeronautical societies in the world. The annual awards are designed to honor outstanding teams and individuals worldwide in the field of aerospace studies and exploration.

 

[JSCh]

Sino-Dutch detector on lunar relay satellite starts scientific detection
2019-11-27 09:31:08 Xinhua Editor : Li Yan

This combination photo shows the unfolding process of the antennas of the low-frequency radio spectrometer on the relay satellite. (Provided to Xinhua)

A detector, jointly developed by Dutch and Chinese scientists and carried by the relay satellite of China's Chang'e-4 mission, has started scientific detection.

The antennas of the low-frequency radio spectrometer on the relay satellite Queqiao, meaning Magpie Bridge, have been unfolded, and the detector is expected to help astronomers listen to the deeper reaches of the cosmos, according to the China National Space Administration.

China launched the relay satellite on May 21, 2018, to set up a communication link between the earth and the moon's far side.

The satellite was sent into a halo orbit around the second Lagrangian point of the earth-moon system, nearly 500,000 km from Earth. It is the world's first communication satellite operating in that orbit.

With the help of the relay satellite, China's Chang'e-4 probe 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, 2019.

The detector on the relay satellite is able to observe the radio bursts of Earth, Jupiter and other planets, conduct collaborative observation with the low-frequency radio spectrometer on the lander of the Chang'e-4 probe and similar instruments on Earth, and help explore the exoplanets, said scientists.

 

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Dutch antennas unfolded behind the moon - Radboud University
Date of news: 26 November 2019

The three antennas on the Dutch-Chinese radio telescope, which is currently located behind the moon, have been unfolded. This was officially announced today by the Dutch team. The Netherlands-China Low Frequency Explorer (NCLE) hung in space waiting for over a year. This was longer than initially planned, as the accompanying communications satellite had to assist a Chinese lunar lander for a longer time.

The Chinese satellite was previously mainly seen as a communications satellite. However, the Chinese moon mission has by now achieved its primary goals. Consequently, the Chinese have redefined the satellite to be a radio observatory. As such, the Netherlands-China Low Frequency Explorer is the first Dutch-Chinese space observatory for radio astronomy.

Marc Klein Wolt, Managing Director of the Radboud Radio Lab and leader of the Dutch team, is happy: “Our contribution to the Chinese Chang’e 4 mission has now increased tremendously. We have the opportunity to perform our observations during the fourteen-day-long night behind the moon, which is much longer than was originally the idea. The moon night is ours, now.”

The unfolding of one of the three antennas. This series of three photographs was taken during the unfolding of an antenna on the QueQiao satellite, which is located behind the moon at around 450 thousand kilometres from Earth. The antenna is the black-and-white rod pointed away from the camera. The gilded cube is the casing in which the antenna has waited to be unfolded for 18 months. © Marc Klein Wolt / Radboud University

Last week, Klein Wolt went to China with engineer Eric Bertels from the antenna manufacturer ISISpace to prepare the unfolding of the antennas. Bertels: “The launch eighteen months ago was already extremely thrilling, of course, but we had no hand in it. Now that our own instrument was concerned, things were rather different.”

Albert-Jan Boonstra of ASTRON is pleased to see that the antennas have been unfolded after three years of hard work: “This is a unique demonstration of technology that paves the way for future radio instruments in space.”

Heino Falcke of Radboud University and scientific leader of the Dutch-Chinese radio telescope can barely wait to get his hands on the first measurements. “We are finally in business and have a radio-astronomy instrument of Dutch origin in space. The team has worked incredibly hard, and the first data will reveal how well the instrument truly performs.”

The longer stay behind the moon most probably did have an effect on the antennas. At first, the antennas unfolded smoothly, but as the process progressed, it became increasingly difficult. The team therefore decided to collect data first and perhaps unfold the antennas further at a later point in time. With these shorter antennas, the instrument is sensitive to signals from around 800 million years after the Big Bang. Once unfolded to their full length, they will be able to capture signals from just after the Big Bang.

Netherlands-China Low Frequency Explorer
The Netherlands-China Low Frequency Explorer (NCLE) is a prototype radio telescope built to record weak radio signals from a period just following the Big Bang, called the Dark Ages. These signals are blocked by the Earth’s atmosphere, which is why the telescope was placed on a satellite and brought to a location behind the moon. With this satellite, called QueQiao, the China National Space Administration (CNSA) has been navigating a lunar lander that has been driving around the back of the moon since early 2019. The Netherlands-China Low Frequency Explorer was developed in the Netherlands by Radboud University (Nijmegen), ASTRON (Dwingeloo) and the ISISpace company (Delft), with support from the Netherlands Space Office.

Press release: NOVA

 

[JSCh]

China's lunar rover travels over 345 meters on moon's far side
2019-12-04 16:25:32 Xinhua

China's lunar rover Yutu-2 has driven 345.059 meters on the far side of the moon to conduct scientific exploration of the virgin territory.

Both the lander and the rover of the Chang'e-4 probe have ended their work for the 12th lunar day, and switched to dormant mode for the lunar night, the Lunar Exploration and Space Program Center of the China National Space Administration (CNSA) said Wednesday.

Due to the complicated geological environment and the rugged and heavily cratered terrain on the far side of the moon, Chinese space engineers carefully planned the driving routes of the rover to ensure its safety.

Driving slowly but steadily, the Yutu-2 is expected to continue traveling on the moon and make more scientific discoveries, said CNSA.

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, 2019.

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

 

[JSCh]

玉兔二号驾驶日记 | 低调的兔二，又双叒叕……

我们的太空微博 12-12 10:31 投诉
阅读数：4380

在我们对月当歌

表白依旧辛勤劳作的玉兔二号时

远在月背的“兔二”又低调地破了纪录

成为在月面工作时间最长的月球车

此前的纪录由“月球车1号”保持

49年来一直无人超越
​

小科普“月球车1号”是世界上第一台无人驾驶的月球车。从1970年11月17日在月球表面软着陆到1971年10月4日停止工作，它在月面进行了十个半月的巡视移动，累计运行321天，移动10540米，考察了约8万平方米的月面，拍摄照片2万余张。“月球车1号”为人类探索认识月球积累了丰富的素材，成为人类探月史上不朽的传奇。

“兔二”月背喜提新纪录

月球正面的嫦娥三号着陆器也没闲着

就在上周的2019年12月7日

比玉兔二号早出道5年的嫦娥三号着陆器

被成功唤醒

开启了第75月昼的新征程

再一次刷新

人类探月航天器月面生存新纪录

天上好消息接二连三，我们自然也跟着高兴，但工作并不轻松。“兔二”醒来后，我们发现本月昼前两天中继星的高度角持续处于低值，导致全向遮挡区域较宽，大部分航向都存在全向遮挡的风险，行进严重受限，每一天的行驶都异常艰难。

▲第十二月昼第二天移动路径虚拟规划图​

在月背行走，可不能“路见不平一声吼”，得必须确保安全精准。嘿嘿，这正好是俺们的强项！

我们在规划路径时充分考虑风险，科学制定“小步折线行驶”策略，精准控制这只兔子分两段折线小步绕过了崎岖不平的地形和盲区，直抵终点！对照下传的车辙，实际与规划完全一致！

简直perfect！

▲第十二月昼上午三次移动路径车辙图。​

兔子午休的时候，科学家们对南边约50米处的一个大型撞击坑产生了浓厚的兴趣，认为这个撞击坑极具探测价值，并将这个强烈的愿望表达给我们驾驶员。

未知的地面状况和复杂的环境让南征“前途未卜”，但我们也并未直接放弃。在月昼下午我们驾驶着兔子，对目标撞击坑方向进行了感知补拍，确认地形后，又向南走了两步到达休眠点，在休眠点对目标撞击坑进行了彩色全景成像。

▲休眠前全景环拍图像从环拍的全景图像来看，撞击坑深邃神秘，在它的旁边，散射着不明​

当你凝望深渊的时候，深渊也在凝望你，也许只要再进一步就可以解开谜题。答案究竟是什么？下回，我们一同分解！

来源 | 我们的太空
作者 | 韩绍金、刘晓慧、宋星光
编辑 | 孙乃伟
邮箱 | ourspace0424@163.com

Summary translation:

Lunar Driver Diary, 12 December.

Yutu-2 rover just broke a record. The previous record holder is Soviet Union's "Lunokhod 1" moon rover, which hold the durability record for moon rover of 321 days for 49 years since 1971.

Additionally, just last week on 7th December, Chang'e-3 lander was successfully awaken by ground control. Thus it begin its 75th lunar day, which continue furthering the durability record for moon lander.

Below is the panoramic picture taken by Yutu-2 before it went to sleep. Scientists had taken a keen interest in a large impact pit about 50 meters to the south. They thought that impact pit was of great exploration value and expressed this strong desire to the rover driver.

 

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China's lunar rover Jade Rabbit-2 breaks record of working time on Moon
Source: Xinhua| 2019-12-21 15:46:36|Editor: mingmei

BEIJING, Dec. 21 (Xinhua) -- China's Jade Rabbit-2, or Yutu-2, has become the longest-working lunar rover on the moon, as it started to work for the 13th lunar day on the far side of the moon.

Previously the record was held by Lunokhod 1, the Soviet robotic rover that became the world's first to be sent to the moon in 1970, where it worked for about 10 months.

China's Chang'e-4 probe including a lander and Jade Rabbit-2, 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, 2019.

Both the lander and rover have resumed work for the 13th lunar day after laying dormant during the extremely cold night, according to the Lunar Exploration and Space Program Center of the China National Space Administration.

The lander woke up at 5:14 a.m. Saturday (Beijing time), and the rover awoke at 6:43 p.m. Friday. Both are in normal working order.

The rover has driven more than 345 meters on the far side of the moon to conduct a scientific exploration of the virgin territory.

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

The scientific tasks of the Chang'e-4 mission include conducting low-frequency radio astronomical observation, surveying the terrain and landforms, detecting the mineral composition and shallow lunar surface structure and measuring neutron radiation and neutral atoms.

The Chang'e-4 mission embodies China's hope to combine wisdom in space exploration with four payloads developed by the Netherlands, Germany, Sweden and Saudi Arabia.

 

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[opruh]

China is the leading space power, no other nation can come close to China's superiority in space. Cry muricunts.

 

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China's lunar rover travels over 357 meters on moon's far side
Xinhua | Updated: 2020-01-03 13:35

BEIJING - China's lunar rover Yutu 2 has driven 357.695 meters on the far side of the moon to conduct scientific exploration of the virgin territory.

Both the lander and the rover of the Chang'e 4 probe have ended their work for the 13th lunar day on Thursday (Beijing time), and switched to dormant mode for the lunar night, according to the Lunar Exploration and Space Program Center of the China National Space Administration.

The scientific instruments on the lander and rover worked as planned. The rover conducted explorations of several sites and photographed and conducted an infrared detection of a stone on the lunar surface, said the center.

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, 2019.

 

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https://twitter.com/x/status/1213954581396381701

 

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China’s lander releases data, high-resolution images of the Moon
The data was collected over a period of 12 lunar "days."

ERIC BERGER - 1/7/2020, 10:19 PM

A little more than one year ago, China's Chang'e 4 spacecraft landed on the far side of the Moon. In doing so, it became the first-ever vehicle to make a soft landing on the side of the Moon facing away from Earth.

To mark the one-year anniversary, China released a batch of scientific data and images captured by five scientific payloads aboard the 1.2-ton spacecraft and its small Yutu 2 rover. Since the landing, the rover has driven a little more than 350 meters across the Moon's surface, studying rock formations and taking additional photos. The data was collected over a period of 12 lunar "days," or most of the last year.


....

China’s lander releases data, high-resolution images of the Moon | Ars Technica

 

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China's Chang'e 4 probe resumes work for 14th lunar day
Xinhua | Updated: 2020-01-20 17:15

BEIJING -- The lander and rover of the Chang'e 4 probe have resumed work for the 14th lunar day on the far side of the moon after "sleeping" during the extremely cold night.

Both the lander and the rover are in normal working order, according to the Lunar Exploration and Space Program Center of the China National Space Administration.

The 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, 2019.

The rover Yutu 2, or Jade Rabbit 2, has worked much longer than its three-month design life, becoming the longest-working lunar rover on the moon.

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