Dec 02, 2013 |
China launches probe and rover to Moon
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(Nanowerk News) China launched the Chang'e-3 lunar probe with the country's first moon rover aboard early on Monday, marking a significant step toward deep space exploration.
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The probe's carrier, an enhanced Long March-3B rocket, blasted off from the Xichang Satellite Launch Center in southwest China at 1:30 a.m.
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The Long March-3B carrier rocket carrying China's Chang'e-3 lunar probe blasts off from the launch pad at Xichang Satellite Launch Center, southwest China's Sichuan Province, Dec. 2, 2013. It will be the first time for China to send a spacecraft to soft land on the surface of an extraterrestrial body, where it will conduct surveys on the moon. (Photo: Xinhua/Li Gang)
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Chang'e-3 is expected to land on the moon in mid-December to become China's first spacecraft to soft land on the surface of an extraterrestrial body.
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It is also the first moon lander launched in the 21st century.
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The probe entered the earth-moon transfer orbit as scheduled, with a perigee of 200 kilometers and apogee of 380,000 kilometers.
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"The probe has already entered the designated orbit," said Zhang Zhenzhong, director of the launch center in Xichang. "I now announce the launch was successful."
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"We will strive for our space dream as part of the Chinese dream of national rejuvenation," he said.
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Amid efforts to promote lunar probe campaign among the public, the Chinese Academy of Sciences opened a microblog account for the Chang'e-3 mission, attracting more than 260,000 fans who continuously posted congratulatory comments.
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The probe's soft-landing is the most difficult task during the mission, said Wu Weiren, the lunar program's chief designer. "This will be a breakthrough for China to realize zero-distance observation and survey on the moon."
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More than 80 percent of technologies and products of the mission are newly developed, he said.
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The Chang'e-3 will lay a solid foundation for manned lunar orbit mission and manned lunar landing. China has not revealed the roadmap for its manned mission to land on the moon.
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So far, only the United States and the former Soviet Union have soft landed on the moon.
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Chang'e-3, comprising a lander and a moon rover called "Yutu" (Jade Rabbit), presents a modern scientific version of an ancient Chinese myth that a lady called Chang'e, after swallowing magic pills, took her pet "Yutu" to fly toward the moon, where she became a goddess, and has been living there with the white rabbit ever since.
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Tasks for the moon rover include surveying the moon's geological structure and surface substances, while looking for natural resources.
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A telescope will be set up on the moon, for the first time in human history, to observe the plasmasphere over the Earth and survey the moon surface through radar.
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The lunar probe mission is of great scientific and economic significance, said Sun Zezhou, chief designer of the lunar probe.
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The mission has contributed to the development of a number of space technologies and some of them can be applied in civilian sector, he said.
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Chang'e-3 is part of the second phase of China's lunar program, which includes orbiting, landing and returning to the Earth. It follows the success of the Chang'e-1 and Chang'e-2 missions in 2007 and 2010.
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After orbiting for 494 days and intentionally crashing onto the lunar surface, Chang'e-1 sent back 1.37 terabytes of data, producing China's first complete moon picture.
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Launched on Oct. 1, 2010, Chang'e-2 verified some crucial technologies for Chang'e-3 and reconnoitered the landing area. It also made the world's first lunar holographic image with a resolution of 7 meters.
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Currently, Chang'e-2 is more than 60 million km away from the Earth and has become China's first man-made asteroid. It is heading for deep space and is expected to travel as far as 300 million km from the Earth, the longest voyage of any Chinese spacecraft.
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China is likely to realize the third step of its lunar program in 2017, which is to land a lunar probe on moon, release a moon rover and return the probe to the Earth.
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The moon is considered the first step to explore a further extraterrestrial body, such as the Mars.
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If successful, the Chang'e-3 mission will mean China has the ability of in-situ exploration on an extraterrestrial body, said Sun Huixian, deputy engineer-in-chief in charge of the second phase of China's lunar program.
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"China's space exploration will not stop at the moon," he said. "Our target is deep space."
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China sent its first astronaut into space in 2003, becoming the third country after Russia and the United States to achieve independent manned space travel.
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Despite fast progress of the lunar mission, China is still a newcomer in this field.
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The former Soviet Union first landed its probe on the moon on Jan. 31, 1966, while the United States first sent human beings to the moon in 1969.
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About a day before the launch of Chang'e-3, India's maiden Mars orbiter, named Mangalyaan, left the Earth early on Sunday for a 300-day journey to the Red Planet.
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Chinese space scientists are looking forward to cooperation with other countries, including the country's close neighbor India.
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Li Benzheng, deputy commander-in-chief of China's lunar program, told media earlier that China's space exploration does not aim at competition.
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"We are open in our lunar program, and cooperation from other countries is welcome," he said. "We hope to explore and use space for more resources to promote human development."
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