By 
April 26th, 2023
CCTV/Inside Outer Space screengrab
China space officials have outlined step-by-step plans for planting Chinese footprints onto the surface of the Moon before 2030.
The country’s lunar exploration initiatives are being detailed during Space Day presentations this week, held in Hefei, the capital of east China’s Anhui Province.
Lunar relay constellation
China plans to launch Queqiao-2, or Magpie Bridge-2, a relay satellite for communications between the far side of the Moon and Earth in 2024, according to the China National Space Administration (CNSA).
Image credit: CCTV/Inside Outer Space screengrab
That relay satellite would support the fourth phase of China’s lunar exploration program, providing communications services for the now in place Chang’e-4 far side rover/lander, then Chang’e-6, Chang’e-7, and Chang’e-8 missions.
The Queqiao-2 relay mission also involves release of two experimental satellites — Tiandu-1 and Tiandu-2 — for communication and navigation, developed by China’s Deep Space Exploration Lab. This twosome would conduct technological experiments and provide a reference for the design of the future Queqiao constellation.
International Lunar Research Station. Image credit: CNSA
Lunar research station
According to China Central Television (CCTV), Chang’e-6 is poised to collect samples from the far side of the Moon around 2024.
Chang’e-7 involves landing on the lunar south pole and searching for water. It is expected to be launched in 2026 and to land in the South Pole-Aitken Basin area of the Moon. According to the CNSA, the Chang’e-7 mission to the Moon will include an orbiter, a lander and a “flyer” – a hopper to move between sites to search for water in permanently darkened craters.
China’s Chang’e-7 lander launches hopper craft to search for lunar ice.
Image credit: CCTV/CNSA/Inside Outer Space screengrab
Chang’e-8, launched around 2028, is to conduct a survey of lunar materials at the Moon’s south pole, which scientists hope will be used to build houses by using 3D printing technology, CCTV reports.
Through these three missions, China aims to complete the building of the basic model of the international lunar research station on the south pole of the moon by 2030.
Image credit: CCTV/Inside Outer Space screengrab
Moon-centered internet
Wu Weiren, chief designer of China’s lunar exploration program, said in a CCTV interview: “We are building a satellite constellation around the Moon, a system that can provide communication, navigation, and remote sensing services. After that, we can carry out future deep space exploration.”
The Moon-centered deep space internet can be extended to a broader scope in the solar system. With the internet, the Moon will have access to TV programs, games and a WiFi network. “And astronauts will never get bored on the Moon,” Wu added.
Large-scale exploration
Wu emphasized that by 2030, “the Chinese people will definitely be able to set foot on the Moon. That’s not a problem.” As for whether China can build a house, make bricks and have access to communication services on the Moon, “they are expected to be verified by sufficient Chang’e-8 experiments, which will provide a guarantee for large-scale lunar scientific exploration in future,” he said.
China formally established its lunar exploration “Project Chang’e” in 2004.
In December 2020, the Chang’e-5 lunar probe brought back 1,731 grams of samples from the Moon, marking the completion of the three-step lunar exploration program of orbiting, landing and return.
To watch informative videos on China’s Moon exploration plans, go to:
Posted in Space News
