Chang'e-4 - the mission to the far side of the moon starts today
Tonight, at about 20:00 (according to other information 21:30) in Moscow, China will launch the Chang'e-4 automatic station to the Moon. If everything goes well, then this will be the first ever soft landing on the far side of the Moon, and China will be the first nation who managed to land the device on the side of its natural satellite invisible from Earth.
According to the plan, after a 27-day flight, the descent capsule will land in the South Pole-Aitken basin .
Both the landing gear and the moon rover are copies of the successful Chang'e-3 mission, which delivered the moon rover to Yuuta on the Moon in December 2013.
To ensure communication with the spacecraft on the far side of the Moon, invisible from the Earth, the Quetqiao satellite relay was launched and placed at the L2 point of the Earth-Moon system L2 (explanation - Halo-orbit ).
Chang'e-4 will conduct research:
The most interesting are radio astronomy studies. The idea of using the moon as an observatory has been around for decades. An example would be the popular science film “The Moon” of 1965 , in which modern, at the time of the film’s release, visions of the Moon and the future of its research and development are visualized.
Hopes that the Moon will become an extraterrestrial observatory destroyed the research of the Soviet lunar rover. It turned out that the moon has a high illumination from the dust discharged by micrometeorites.
But for radio astronomy, the moon is still promising. The reverse side of the moon is free from interference from the ionosphere of our planet, radio interference from transmitters and equipment, and noise from auroral radiation. Radio emission from the Sun is also absent on a moonlit night.
All this should confirm or refute the joint low-frequency radio astronomical observations of the moon rover and the Queqiao satellite transponder equipped with the Low-Frequency Explorer tool (NCLE).
The Chang'e-4 landing platform is equipped with a Landing Camera (LCAM), a Terrain Camera (TCAM), a low-frequency spectrometer (LFS) and a Lunar Lander Neutrons and Dosimetry (LND).
The lunar rover also has four instruments: a panoramic camera (PCAM), a Lunar Penetrating Radar (LPR), a visible and near infrared spectrometer (VNIS), and an Advanced Small Analyzer for Neutrals (ASAN).
LFS is a new tool, the rest are inherited from the previous mission.
The LPR instrument will probably be able to investigate the structure of the surface on the route of the moon rover and determine the thickness and structure of the lunar regolith.
There will also be a biological experiment. Chang'e-4 will carry a container containing the seeds of potatoes and rezuhovidki . Perhaps the container will contain silkworm eggs.
This lunar mini-biosphere experiment was developed by 28 Chinese universities headed by Chongqing University in southwest China. The cylindrical container, made of special aluminum alloy, weighs 3 kilograms.
PS On the website "Journal of everything about space" published a link - www.douyu.com/1963680
The source of the stream was found in the publication China Readies Chang'e-4 Moon Lander Mission for Launch
According to the plan, after a 27-day flight, the descent capsule will land in the South Pole-Aitken basin .
Both the landing gear and the moon rover are copies of the successful Chang'e-3 mission, which delivered the moon rover to Yuuta on the Moon in December 2013.
To ensure communication with the spacecraft on the far side of the Moon, invisible from the Earth, the Quetqiao satellite relay was launched and placed at the L2 point of the Earth-Moon system L2 (explanation - Halo-orbit ).
Chang'e-4 will conduct research:
- Low frequency radio astronomy studies
- The study of the structures of the surface of the moon within the area of motion of the lunar rover
- Topographical studies and the study of the mineralogical composition of the surface of the moon within the area of motion of the lunar rover
The most interesting are radio astronomy studies. The idea of using the moon as an observatory has been around for decades. An example would be the popular science film “The Moon” of 1965 , in which modern, at the time of the film’s release, visions of the Moon and the future of its research and development are visualized.
Hopes that the Moon will become an extraterrestrial observatory destroyed the research of the Soviet lunar rover. It turned out that the moon has a high illumination from the dust discharged by micrometeorites.
But for radio astronomy, the moon is still promising. The reverse side of the moon is free from interference from the ionosphere of our planet, radio interference from transmitters and equipment, and noise from auroral radiation. Radio emission from the Sun is also absent on a moonlit night.
All this should confirm or refute the joint low-frequency radio astronomical observations of the moon rover and the Queqiao satellite transponder equipped with the Low-Frequency Explorer tool (NCLE).
The Chang'e-4 landing platform is equipped with a Landing Camera (LCAM), a Terrain Camera (TCAM), a low-frequency spectrometer (LFS) and a Lunar Lander Neutrons and Dosimetry (LND).
The lunar rover also has four instruments: a panoramic camera (PCAM), a Lunar Penetrating Radar (LPR), a visible and near infrared spectrometer (VNIS), and an Advanced Small Analyzer for Neutrals (ASAN).
LFS is a new tool, the rest are inherited from the previous mission.
The LPR instrument will probably be able to investigate the structure of the surface on the route of the moon rover and determine the thickness and structure of the lunar regolith.
There will also be a biological experiment. Chang'e-4 will carry a container containing the seeds of potatoes and rezuhovidki . Perhaps the container will contain silkworm eggs.
This lunar mini-biosphere experiment was developed by 28 Chinese universities headed by Chongqing University in southwest China. The cylindrical container, made of special aluminum alloy, weighs 3 kilograms.
PS On the website "Journal of everything about space" published a link - www.douyu.com/1963680
Here is the unofficial Live from Sichan, PH Long March 3B with the mission of Chang'e-4. Start soon! According to airspace closures published on Wednesday, the launch will take place between 18: 15-18: 34 UTC / 1: 15-1: 34pm EST / 3: 15-3: 34 JST (Sat). Many viewers are waiting at the Xichang Satellite Launch Center.
The source of the stream was found in the publication China Readies Chang'e-4 Moon Lander Mission for Launch
An unofficial live video stream from the Xichang Satellite Launch Center in southwest China