Author Topic: Chang'e 4  (Read 10459 times)

Offline Dalhousie

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Chang'e 4
« on: December 11, 2018, 02:34:44 AM »
Mildly surprised that that nobody has mentioned the Chan'e 4 mission currently  on the way to the moon for the first landing attempt since the successful Chang'e 3 landing in 2013.

Chang'e 4 will attempt a lunar far side landing and deploy a rover.  There is also a relay satellite in EM-L2, Quegiao, already in place.  This nice little video shows the whole mission sequence https://pbs.twimg.com/ext_tw_video_thumb/1071741340134850560/pu/img/kXwG9c9d_iYtGVjd?format=jpg&name=small

The launch video can be viewed at

Offline onebigmonkey

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Re: Chang'e 4
« Reply #1 on: December 11, 2018, 02:22:25 PM »
Very much looking forward to seeing how this turns out. China will have boots on the ground before long.

Offline bknight

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Re: Chang'e 4
« Reply #2 on: December 11, 2018, 04:04:02 PM »
Very much looking forward to seeing how this turns out. China will have boots on the ground before long.

At least someone is forward looking.  :(
Truth needs no defense.  Nobody can take those footsteps I made on the surface of the moon away from me.
Eugene Cernan

Offline raven

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Re: Chang'e 4
« Reply #3 on: December 12, 2018, 02:25:26 AM »
Well, congrats to the scientists and engineers involved. I wish them all the best on this venture. I can't wait to see the results!

Offline Peter B

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Re: Chang'e 4
« Reply #4 on: December 12, 2018, 08:19:48 AM »
And the great thing about sending spacecraft to the Moon: you don't have to wait months or years for them to get there.

Offline QuietElite

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Re: Chang'e 4
« Reply #5 on: December 12, 2018, 12:01:05 PM »
I can already see the CT's hand-waving again because China won't find a Apollo landing site on the far side of the moon  ::)

Offline Dalhousie

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Re: Chang'e 4
« Reply #6 on: December 14, 2018, 11:48:07 PM »

Offline molesworth

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Re: Chang'e 4
« Reply #7 on: December 19, 2018, 01:10:17 PM »
I can already see the CT's hand-waving again because China won't find a Apollo landing site on the far side of the moon  ::)
Of course not - they've gone there to photograph all the alien bases...  8)
Days spent at sea are not deducted from one's allotted span - Phoenician proverb

Offline Dalhousie

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Re: Chang'e 4
« Reply #8 on: December 20, 2018, 05:20:18 AM »
Link by the Queqiao relay satellite in L2 established.  Artcie also has a lovely photo of the Earth and the Moon from a Saudi camera onboard one of the accompanying cubesats

https://gbtimes.com/change-4-lander-makes-contact-with-queqiao-relay-satellite-from-lunar-orbit

Offline Dalhousie

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Offline molesworth

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Re: Chang'e 4
« Reply #10 on: January 02, 2019, 06:52:30 AM »
Landing attempt in the next few hours https://www.nextbigfuture.com/2019/01/chinas-change-4-spacecraft-will-land-on-dark-side-of-the-moon-in-the-next-60-hours.html
Thanks for the update.  It's an exciting few days, between Chang'e 4 and New Horizons  :)
Days spent at sea are not deducted from one's allotted span - Phoenician proverb

Offline bknight

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Re: Chang'e 4
« Reply #11 on: January 03, 2019, 07:23:38 AM »
First image from the far side of the Moon after lander touched down.  Congratulations to the China Space Agency.

https://www.space.com/42883-china-first-landing-moon-far-side.html
Truth needs no defense.  Nobody can take those footsteps I made on the surface of the moon away from me.
Eugene Cernan

Offline onebigmonkey

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Re: Chang'e 4
« Reply #12 on: January 03, 2019, 08:55:00 AM »
I managed to match the area on the landing sequence they've released with the LRO imagery:



The coordinates in the centre are -45.4564, 177.5963.

Offline bknight

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Re: Chang'e 4
« Reply #13 on: January 03, 2019, 12:15:51 PM »
I managed to match the area on the landing sequence they've released with the LRO imagery:



The coordinates in the centre are -45.4564, 177.5963.

Kinda in the SW corner area with one medium crater leading to three more in a NE direction?
Truth needs no defense.  Nobody can take those footsteps I made on the surface of the moon away from me.
Eugene Cernan

Offline Dalhousie

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Re: Chang'e 4
« Reply #14 on: January 03, 2019, 04:31:32 PM »
Good report here, note it uses Chang'e 3 images to illustrate surface operations, presumably because it was written before the rabbit escaped it's hutch.

https://www.nasaspaceflight.com/2019/01/china-returning-moon-change-4-mission/