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Author
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Topic: China's Chang'e-1 mission to the Moon
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Robert Pearlman
Editor Posts: 12300
From: Houston, TX
Registered: Nov 1999
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posted October 24, 2007 12:42 PM
   
Xinhua: China's 1st lunar probe Chang'e-1 blasts off  quote:
China launched its first lunar probe on Wednesday, the first step into its ambitious three-stage moon mission, marking a new milestone in the country's space exploration history.The circumlunar satellite Chang'e-1 blasted off on a Long March 3A carrier rocket at 6:05 p.m. from the No. 3 launching tower in the Xichang Satellite Launch Center of southwestern Sichuan Province. ... Chang'e-1 separated from carrier rocket at 6:29 p.m. and entered into a 16-hour orbit at 205 kilometers perigee and 50,930 kilometers apogee, according to the Beijing Aerospace Control Center (BACC). It began to use solar energy for power supply as the solar panel was unfolded about an hour after the launch, according to the control center. ... Chang'e-1, named after a legendary Chinese goddess of moon, is expected to experience four accelerations and enter earth-moon transfer orbit on October 31 and arrive in the moon's orbit on November 5.
ESA is collaborating with the Chinese on this mission by providing spacecraft and ground operations support services to CNSA. The two agencies will also share data and encourage a visitors’ programme so that researchers can learn from each other. From ESA: Chang'e-1 - new mission to Moon lifts off quote:
Chang’e-1 has four mission goals to accomplish. The first is to make three-dimensional images of many lunar landforms and outline maps of major lunar geological structures. This mapping will include the first detailed images taken of some regions near the lunar poles.Chang’e-1 is also designed to analyze the abundance of up to 14 chemical elements and their distribution across the lunar surface. Thirdly it will measure the depth of the lunar soil and lastly it will explore the space weather between the Earth and the Moon. The spacecraft is large, weighing in at 2350 kg and it will operate from a low, circular lunar orbit, just 200 km above the surface of the Moon. From here, it will perform its science mission for a full year. ... Named after the Chinese goddess of the Moon, Chang’e-1 represents the first phase in the Chinese Lunar Exploration Programme (CLEP). This programme is expected to last until around 2020 and the next phase will include a lander and associated rover. Looking farther into the future, plans are being drawn up for a sample return mission to bring lunar rocks to Earth for analysis.
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Rusty B
Member Posts: 12
From:
Registered: Oct 2004
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posted October 25, 2007 03:23 PM
It's only a matter of time now, until Chinese vendors flood eBay with souvenir moon rocks. Moon Rock 99-cents, Shipping $1,000,000.00 ;-)IP: Logged |
Robert Pearlman
Editor Posts: 12300
From: Houston, TX
Registered: Nov 1999
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posted November 05, 2007 08:18 AM
Xinhua: China's first lunar probe enters moon's orbit quote:
China's first lunar probe, Chang'e-1, successfully completed its first braking at perilune and entered the moon's orbit Monday morning, becoming China's first circumlunar satellite....the probe is expected to brake for another two times in the following two days. The second braking will be performed at about 11:00 a.m. on Nov. 6, which will slow down the probe's speed to 1.8 km per second to help it enter a 3.5-hour orbit with a perilune of 200 km and an apolune of 1,700 km. The third braking will be effected at around 8:00 a.m. on Nov. 7, which will further slow down its speed to 1.59 km per second to put it on a 127-minute round polar circular orbit. This is also its final destination where Chang'e-1 is supposed to start "working" formally.
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yeknom-ecaps
Member Posts: 185
From: Northville MI USA
Registered: Aug 2005
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posted November 11, 2007 06:01 PM
Have read about the ESA and China cooperation on the tracking of Chang'e 1. Is there any NASA support?IP: Logged |
cspg
Member Posts: 1281
From: Geneva, Switzerland
Registered: May 2006
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posted November 12, 2007 12:19 AM
Good question!
I remember having read that the Deep Space Network was stretched to its limits (thanks to lack of funding for maintenance, upgrades and expansion: there are more and more probes to track!)....Chris. IP: Logged |
Robert Pearlman
Editor Posts: 12300
From: Houston, TX
Registered: Nov 1999
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posted November 26, 2007 09:00 AM
Xinhua: China publishes first moon picture  quote:
China published the first picture of the moon captured by Chang'e-1 on Monday morning, marking the success of the country's first lunar probe project.The framed black-and-white photo was unveiled by Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao at the Beijing Aerospace Control Center. The image showed a rough moon surface with scattered round craters both big and small. The area covered by the picture, about 460 kilometers in length and 280 km in width, was located within a 54 to 70 degrees south latitude and 57 to 83 degrees east longitude, according to the BACC. The area pictured was part of the moon's highland and was mainly composed of plagioclase, a common rock-forming element. On the surface were craters of different sizes, shapes, structures and ages, the BACC sources said.
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Max Q
Member Posts: 109
From: Whyalla South Australia
Registered: Mar 2007
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posted November 27, 2007 12:00 AM
Beautiful image lets hope they keep on sharing.IP: Logged |
tegwilym
Member Posts: 1709
From: Renton, WA USA
Registered: Jan 2000
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posted November 27, 2007 11:33 AM
With all these new spacecraft going to the moon, it's just a matter of time before we get a photo of the Apollo sites that should shut Bart Sibrel up for good!IP: Logged |
Philip
Member Posts: 3326
From: Brussels, BELGIUM
Registered: Jan 2001
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posted November 27, 2007 11:56 AM
Indeed, in a separate topic we pointed out that the Apollo 15 & 16 landing sites will be used to calibrate HighRes cameras on those great unmanned space probes actually in orbit around the Moon. About 50 years ago, journalists used the term ' artificial planets ' for these unmanned probes  IP: Logged |
ejectr
Member Posts: 897
From: Brimfield, MA
Registered: Mar 2002
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posted November 27, 2007 02:32 PM
Great stuff! It's the kind of stuff that used to move a nation.I remember when our first moon photo came back and was shown. Even people who weren't interested had to stop, take pause and just see what another celestial body looked like up close. Again...great stuff and good for them! IP: Logged |
Robert Pearlman
Editor Posts: 12300
From: Houston, TX
Registered: Nov 1999
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posted December 07, 2007 10:03 AM
quote:
Originally posted by Robert Pearlman:
China published the first picture of the moon captured by Chang'e-1 on Monday morning, marking the success of the country's first lunar probe project.
Last week, allegations rose that the photo released from Chang'e-1 was faked, as it appeared similar to a photograph taken by NASA several years ago.The Planetary Society's blogger Emily Lakdawalla took the report to task, debunking the forgery claims but in the process discovering that China had retouched the image for public release. See also Alan Boyle's Comic Log for reaction by other bloggers to Lakdawalla's research. IP: Logged |
Glint
Member Posts: 468
From: New Windsor, Maryland USA
Registered: Jan 2004
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posted December 07, 2007 11:59 AM
quote:
Originally posted by Robert Pearlman:
The Planetary Society's blogger Emily Lakdawalla took the report to task, debunking the forgery claims but in the process discovering that China had retouched the image for public release.
Great story, complete with interesting twists and turns. It's also nice to see NRL's Clementine getting some new found publicity. IP: Logged |
