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[b]Chang'e 4 lowers orbit ahead of far side landing[/b] China's Chang'e-4 spacecraft entered a planned lower lunar orbit on Sunday (Dec. 30) to prepare for its attempt at the first-ever landing on the far side of the moon, the China National Space Administration (CNSA) announced. The probe entered an elliptical lunar orbit with the perilune at about 9 miles (15 kilometers) and the apolune at about 62 miles (100 km), the Chinese state news agency Xinhua reported, citing CNSA. Since Chang'e-4 entered its initial lunar orbit on Dec. 12, the ground control center in Beijing has trimmed the probe's orbit twice and tested the communications link between the spacecraft and the relay satellite Queqiao. Flight controllers have also tested the imaging instruments and ranging detectors on Chang'e 4 to prepare for the landing, which is expected in early January.
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