Launch News Chang'e-2 : China Moon mission

[orb]

Xinhua: China's second lunar probe completes final braking, enters working orbit.

 

[orb]

Space Daily: China Eyes Extended Mission Beyond Moon:

... Chang'e 2 does not seem to be a radically different spacecraft from its sister, Chang'e 1, which was launched to the Moon in 2007. In theory, China could still have launched this bird to the Moon with the same Long March 3A launch vehicle used for Chang'e 1.

However, the upgrade to the more powerful Long March 3C rocket does produce its advantages. It leaves Chang'e 2 well stocked with fuel. The mission hadn't reached the final stages of countdown when China's state media began to discuss this, suggesting a great deal of confidence in the fuel surfeit. The confidence was so high that the media was openly speculating that the spacecraft would leave lunar orbit at the end of its primary mission.

...

Chinese media have spoken of different options for a post-primary mission for Chang'e 2. Evidently, controllers are keeping their options open. Exactly what happens to Chang'e in another six months will probably depend on the exact amount of fuel left, the state of the spacecraft, and the outcome of some conscientious debate that's probably already underway.

The easiest plan would be to remain in lunar orbit for an extended mission. This could be useful if China wants to closely reconnoiter more areas at close range. The orbit could be shifted to dip downwards at several key areas, enabling high-resolution photos to be taken.

...

 

[Orbinaut Pete]

China 'zero chance' of moon landing in next five years.

 

[Unstung]

It's surprising how many countries are planning on a manned lunar mission:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_current_and_future_lunar_missions#Manned_missions
Wow, I hope at least one program succeeds. :thumbup:

 

[Orbinaut Pete]

Aviation Week: "Chang'e 2 Proving Tech For Future Missions".

Xinhua: "China's second lunar probe expected to have enough fuel to return to earth".

 

[Orbinaut Pete]

Aviation Week: "China Touts Lunar Probe Braking Maneuver".

 

[orb]

Beijing Review: Moon Mission Moving Forward.

 

[orb]

Xinhua: China announces success of Chang'e-2 lunar probe mission.

[table="width=300"]

Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao attends an unveiling ceremony for pictures of the moon's Sinus Iridum, or Bay of Rainbows, taken and sent back by the Chang'e-2, China's second lunar probe, in Beijing, capital of China, Nov. 8, 2010. (Xinhua/Huang Jingwen)[/table]​

 

[Orbinaut Pete]

Xinhua: "China announces success of Chang'e-2 lunar probe mission".

Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao attends an unveiling ceremony for pictures of the moon's Sinus Iridum, or Bay of Rainbows, taken and sent back by the Chang'e-2, China's second lunar probe, in Beijing, capital of China, Nov. 8, 2010.

Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao Monday unveiled an image of the moon's Sinus Iridum, or Bay of Rainbows, photographed by Chang'e-2, marking the success of China's second lunar probe mission.

Premier Wen attended the unveiling ceremony at the State Administration of Science, Technology and Industry for National Defense (SASTIND) and was briefed on the country's lunar mission.

Before unveiling the picture, Wen visited representatives of scientists and personnel who participated in the lunar probe mission.

"The success of Chang'e-2 in accomplishing its mission marks another great achievement after the country successfully launched its first lunar probe," Vice Premier Zhang Dejiang read out a message of congratulations to scientists and participating crews at the ceremony.

Zhang delivered the message on behalf of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China (CPC), the State Council and the Central Military Commission.

"The Chinese people will unswervingly develop technologies for the exploration of deep space and the peaceful use of outer space," said the message.

The image was photographed by a charge-coupled device (CCD) camera on the Chang'e-2 lunar probe from a height of 18.7 km over the moon on Oct. 28.

The frame of the picture covered an area of 8 km wide from east to west and 15.9 km long from south to north, with the center at 31.05 degrees west longitude and 43.07 degrees north latitude.

The area was proposed as the landing ground for China's future moon missions.

After it finishes its six-month mission, Chang'e-2 will fulfil one of its three designated "tasks" -- crashing into the moon, flying off into outer space or returning to the Earth.

Chang'e-2 was built as an alternative to Chang'e-1, which was launched in October 2007 on a 16-month lunar orbit mission.

The Chang'e probes are named after Chang'e, a legendary Chinese moon goddess.

 

[Urwumpe]

A 15 kilometers above the surface orbit, that's something I would be afraid to do in Orbiter, because of the tidal effects of the Earth and Sun ! That should give great pics, another probe on the way ! :hail:

If your semi-major axis is still big enough (and your eccentricity high), the distance isn't that bad - you still have about 5 km before you need to start worrying about lunar mountains.

 

[Pinguinboy]

That isn't funny. Then the cape would end up in Fallout! (or is it Fallout 2?)

Darren

Fallout 3, because it sets on the East Coast. :yarly!:

 

[Urwumpe]

Actually, no nuclear war would happen, because China would pull in their mortgages to the USA. "This is our nuclear warhead and we own this carrier..."

 

[Wishbone]

What about mascons?

 

[Orbinaut Pete]

SPACE.com: "China Unveils First Moon Photos From New Lunar Orbiter".

 

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SPACE.com: Chinese Moon Probe Reaches New Deep Space Destination:

Several months after departing from the moon, a Chinese spacecraft has arrived at a new destination about 930,000 miles (1.5 million kilometers) from Earth, according to news reports in China.

The Chang'e 2 moon probe arrived at Lagrange Point 2 (L2) — a place where the gravity of Earth and the sun roughly balance out — on Aug. 25, the Xinhua news service reported Tuesday (Aug. 30). Chang'e 2 had left lunar orbit in early June to head for deeper space.

China is now the world's third nation or agency to put a probe in L2, one of five spots in near-Earth space that serve as a sort of parking lot for spacecraft to hover without being pulled toward any planetary body. NASA and the European Space Agency have also accomplished the feat.

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Xinhua: Chang'e-2 moon orbiter travels around L2 in outer space

 

[orb]

SPACE.com: Chinese Moon Probe Tackling New Deep Space Mission:

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Deep space exploration

China's State Administration for Science, Technology and Industry for National Defense has heralded the repurposed probe, which has made China's space agency the third ever to visit a Lagrangian point. Missions launched by the European Space Agency and NASA also visited Lagrangian points.

Liu Tongjie, the deputy director for the second-phase project of the China Lunar Exploration Program, said Chang'e 2 new position allows it to tackle two scientific tasks: observing the Earth's magnetic field and charting solar storms, according to a China Daily report.

Yet another assignment for October is for Chang'e 2 to help assess the capability of two large deep space communications antennas in China, Liu said.

One antenna, 115 feet (35 meters) in diameter, is being built at Kashgar in the northwest. The second antenna is nearly twice the size, with a diameter of nearly 210 feet (64 meters), and is being built at Jiamusi in the northeast.

These antennas will be part of China's deep space network, reportedly to take shape in 2016 and built to handle possible future exploration of Jupiter and the poles of the sun.

{...}

 

[orb]

Universe Today: China Unveils High Resolution Global Moon Map:

Chinese scientists have assembled the highest resolution map ever created of the entire Moon and unveiled a series of global Moon images on Monday, Feb. 6.

The composite Lunar maps were created from over 700 individual images captured by China’s Chang’e-2 spacecraft and released by the country’s State Administration of Science, Technology and Industry for National Defence (SASTIND), according to reports from the state run Xinhua and CCTV new agencies.

“The map and images are the highest-resolution photos of the entirety of the moon’s surface to be published thus far,” said Liu Dongkui, deputy chief commander of China’s lunar probe project, reports Xinhua.

Of course there are much higher resolution photos of numerous individual locations on the moon taken from orbit by the spacecraft of other countries and from the surface by NASA’s Apollo lunar landing astronauts as well as unmanned Russian & American lunar landers and rovers.

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The images were snapped between October 2010 and May 2011 using a charge-coupled device (CCD) stereo camera as the spacecraft flew overhead in a highly elliptical orbit ranging from 15 km to 100 km altitude.

The Chang’e-2 maps have a resolution of 7 meters, which is 17 times greater than from China’s first lunar orbiter; Chang’e-1, launched in 2007.

In fact the maps are detailed enough that Chinese scientists were able to detect traces of the Apollo landers, said Yan Jun, chief application scientist for China’s lunar exploration project.

Chang’e-2 also captured high resolution photos of the “Sinus Iridum”area , or Bay of Rainbows, where China may land their next moon mission. The camera had the ability to resolve features as small as 1 meter across at the lowest altitude.

The satellite left lunar orbit in June 2011 and is currently orbiting the moon’s second Lagrange Point (L2), located more than 1.5 million km away from Earth.

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SPACE.com:

• China Unveils Best Moon Map Yet from Lunar Orbiter
• Gallery: China's Moon Photos by Chang'e 2 Lunar Probe

 

[Cosmic Penguin]

Off to an NEO!

The little spacecraft continues its long journey with China's first fly-by of an asteroid. A China Academy of Sciences report reveals that CE-2 has left the Sun-Earth L2 point on April 15 to visit an old friend of the Earth, the [ame="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/4179_Toutatis"]Near Earth asteroid 4179 Toutatis[/ame]! The flyby of this cosmic potato is scheduled on January 6, 2013. Details here.

Toutatis as mapped by the Goldstone radio telescope in 1996

 

[orb]

The Planetary Society Blog: Chang'E 2 has departed Earth's neighborhood for.....asteroid Toutatis!?

 

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The Planetary Society Blog: Update on yesterday's post about Chang'E 2 going to Toutatis:

{...} Second, user "Galactic Penguin" at the NASASpaceflight forum (who was the original person to post this news in the first place, evidently) {...}