. 24/7 Space News .
DRAGON SPACE
China to send Chang'e-4 to south pole of moon's far-side
by Staff Writers
Beijing (XNA) Jun 20, 2016


The lander of Chang'e-4 will be equipped with descent and terrain cameras, and the rover will be equipped with a panoramic camera, he said. Like China's first lunar rover Yutu, or Jade Rabbit, carried by Chang'e-3, the rover of Chang'e-4 will carry subsurface penetrating radar to detect the near surface structure of the moon, and an infrared spectrometer to analyze the chemical composition of lunar samples.

China aims to send the Chang'e-4 lunar probe to land in the south pole region of the far side of the moon in 2018, according to China National Space Administration (CNSA).

Scientists plan to send a relay satellite for Chang'e-4 to the halo orbit of the Earth-Moon Lagrange Point L2 in late May or early June 2018, and then launch the Chang'e-4 lunar lander and rover to the Aitken Basin of the south pole region about half a year later, said Liu Tongjie, deputy director of the CNSA's Lunar Exploration and Space Program Center.

"We plan to land Chang'e-4 at the Aitken Basin because the region is believed to be a place with great scientific research potential," Liu told Xinhua in an exclusive interview.

With its special environment and complex geological history, the far side of the moon is a hot spot for scientific and space exploration. However, landing and roving there requires the relay satellite to transmit signals.

The transmission channel is limited, and the landscape is rugged, so the Chang'e-4 mission will be more complicated than Chang'e-3, China's first soft landing mission on the moon, which was completed in 2013, said Liu.

The lander of Chang'e-4 will be equipped with descent and terrain cameras, and the rover will be equipped with a panoramic camera, he said. Like China's first lunar rover Yutu, or Jade Rabbit, carried by Chang'e-3, the rover of Chang'e-4 will carry subsurface penetrating radar to detect the near surface structure of the moon, and an infrared spectrometer to analyze the chemical composition of lunar samples.

But unlike Chang'e-3, the new lander will be equipped with an important scientific payload especially designed for the far side of the moon: a low-frequency radio spectrometer.

"Since the far side of the moon is shielded from electromagnetic interference from the Earth, it's an ideal place to research the space environment and solar bursts, and the probe can 'listen' to the deeper reaches of the cosmos," Liu said.

The Chang'e-4 probe will also carry three scientific payloads respectively developed by the Netherlands, Sweden and Germany, according to Liu.

"It's in-depth, friendly and win-win international cooperation under the leadership of the CNSA," said Liu. "The cooperation will help engineers and scientists from different countries study together. Scientists could conduct joint research and share scientific data."

The low-frequency radio spectrometer, developed in the Netherlands, will be installed on the Chang'e-4 relay satellite. The Dutch and Chinese low-frequency radio instruments will conduct unique scientific studies such as measuring auroral radio emissions from the large planets in the solar system, determining the radio background spectrum at the Earth-Moon L2 points, creating a new low-frequency map of the radio sky, and detecting bright pulsars and other radio transient phenomena.

"The Chinese and Dutch low-frequency radio spectrometers on the lander and relay satellite of Chang'e-4 might help us detect the 21-cm hydrogen line radiation and study how the earliest stars were ignited and how our cosmos emerged from darkness after the Big Bang," said Chen Xuelei, an astronomer with the National Astronomical Observatories of the Chinese Academy of Sciences.

The rover will also carry an advanced small analyzer for neutrals, developed in Sweden, to study the interaction between solar winds and the moon surface.

And a neutron dosimeter, developed in Germany, will be installed on the lander to measure radiation at the landing site. Scientists say it is essential to investigate the radiation environment on the lunar surface, in preparation for human missions to the moon.

The Chinese public, especially young people, are encouraged to participate in the Chang'e-4 mission. The CNSA launched a contest among students across China at the beginning of this year, collecting creative ideas on the design of the payloads on the lander, rover and relay satellite.

"We received a total of 257 submissions, and 20 items entered the primary selection. The final result will be announced in September after online voting and expert evaluation," Liu said.

According to the website of the CNSA's Lunar and Deep Space Exploration, entries including a micro-ecological circulation system, a deep lunar soil temperature detector, a 3D printing technology using lunar soil and a sound transmission experiment device have proved to be the most popular in online voting.

"The contest is based on creativity, but engineering feasibility has to be considered," Liu said. "We'll try to select one or two items eventually to take to the moon."

Source: Xinhua News Agency


Thanks for being here;
We need your help. The SpaceDaily news network continues to grow but revenues have never been harder to maintain.

With the rise of Ad Blockers, and Facebook - our traditional revenue sources via quality network advertising continues to decline. And unlike so many other news sites, we don't have a paywall - with those annoying usernames and passwords.

Our news coverage takes time and effort to publish 365 days a year.

If you find our news sites informative and useful then please consider becoming a regular supporter or for now make a one off contribution.
SpaceDaily Contributor
$5 Billed Once


credit card or paypal
SpaceDaily Monthly Supporter
$5 Billed Monthly


paypal only


.


Related Links
China National Space Administration
The Chinese Space Program - News, Policy and Technology
China News from SinoDaily.com






Comment on this article via your Facebook, Yahoo, AOL, Hotmail login.

Share this article via these popular social media networks
del.icio.usdel.icio.us DiggDigg RedditReddit GoogleGoogle

Previous Report
DRAGON SPACE
Experts Fear Chinese Space Station Could Crash Into Earth
Beijing (Sputnik) Jun 13, 2016
Some experts believe China's Tiangong-1 space lab is nearing the end of its life. The problem is, no one's sure where or when it will fall. Nicknamed the Heavenly Palace, Tiangong-1 is Beijing's first space station. After conducting a series of docking exercises with the Shenzhou missions, the Heavenly Palace has engaged in Earth observation procedures since 2013. "Tiangong-1 has obtained ... read more


DRAGON SPACE
US may approve private venture moon mission: report

Fifty Years of Moon Dust

Airbus Defence and Space to guide lunar lander to the Moon

A new, water-logged history of the Moon

DRAGON SPACE
Rover Opportunity Wrapping up Study of Martian Valley

A little help from friends

Delayed ExoMars mission gets 77-mln-euro boost

CaSSIS Sends First Image of Mars

DRAGON SPACE
Blue Origin has fourth successful rocket booster landing

TED Talks aim for wider global reach

Disney brings its brand to Shanghai with new theme park

Tech, beauty intersect in Silicon Valley

DRAGON SPACE
China to send Chang'e-4 to south pole of moon's far-side

Experts Fear Chinese Space Station Could Crash Into Earth

Bolivia to pay back loan to China for Tupac Katari satellite

China plans 5 new space science satellites

DRAGON SPACE
NASA Ignites Fire Experiment Aboard Space Cargo Ship

Three astronauts touch down after 6 months in space

Cygnus spacecraft begins next phase of OA-6 mission

Cygnus space capsule departs International Space Station

DRAGON SPACE
McCain Stands Down: Congress Reaches Compromise on Russian Rockets

SpaceX launches satellites but fails to recover rocket

Launch Vehicle Ascent Trajectories and Sequencing

Arianespace makes history on its latest Ariane 5 mission

DRAGON SPACE
Largest crowdsource astronomy network helps confirm discovery of 'Tatooine' planet

Smaller Stars Pack Big X-ray Punch for Would-Be Planets

San Francisco State University astronomer helps discover giant planet orbiting 2 suns

Largest, Widest Orbit "Tatooine" Bolsters Planet Formation Theories

DRAGON SPACE
Building the Future: Space Station Crew 3-D Prints First Student-Designed Tool in Space

Ubisoft to let game players join 'Star Trek' crew

Video game makers finding their way in virtual worlds

Serco gets $38 million missile radar contract









The content herein, unless otherwise known to be public domain, are Copyright 1995-2024 - Space Media Network. All websites are published in Australia and are solely subject to Australian law and governed by Fair Use principals for news reporting and research purposes. AFP, UPI and IANS news wire stories are copyright Agence France-Presse, United Press International and Indo-Asia News Service. ESA news reports are copyright European Space Agency. All NASA sourced material is public domain. Additional copyrights may apply in whole or part to other bona fide parties. All articles labeled "by Staff Writers" include reports supplied to Space Media Network by industry news wires, PR agencies, corporate press officers and the like. Such articles are individually curated and edited by Space Media Network staff on the basis of the report's information value to our industry and professional readership. Advertising does not imply endorsement, agreement or approval of any opinions, statements or information provided by Space Media Network on any Web page published or hosted by Space Media Network. General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) Statement Our advertisers use various cookies and the like to deliver the best ad banner available at one time. All network advertising suppliers have GDPR policies (Legitimate Interest) that conform with EU regulations for data collection. By using our websites you consent to cookie based advertising. If you do not agree with this then you must stop using the websites from May 25, 2018. Privacy Statement. Additional information can be found here at About Us.