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September 18th, 2024
Chang’e-4 far side mission – lander and Yutu-2 rover.
Credit: CNSA/CLEP
Still on a roll on the Moon is China’s Yutu-2 far side rover.
Wheeling and dealing with the scenery within the Von Karman Crater in the South Pole-Aitken Basin, the mini-robot has traveled 5,292 feet (1,613 meters) as of Tuesday, report its operators. It is currently the longest-working lunar rover in history, noted China Central Television (CCTV).
Deployed from the Chang’e-4 lander, Yutu-2, or Jade Rabbit-2, back in early January 2019, the rover has completed its work for the 71st lunar day. In “Moon time” that marks nearly five years and nine months of operation and far beyond its original three month design lifespan.
Image credit: CCTV/Inside Outer Space screengrab
Lunar photos
Zuo Wei, deputy chief designer of the Chang’e-4 mission’s ground application system, noted that collection of lunar photos highlighted a variety of features of the Moon’s surface, including flat areas, hills, impact craters and large rocks.
Zuo told CCTV that the Moon-based optical telescope onboard Chang’e-3 lander “is still operational, performing regular on-off cycles every month, though it is no longer conducting scientific observations. Chang’e-4 is also still active.”
China’s Chang’e 3 lander as view by Yutu rover.
Image credit: National Astronomical Observatories of Chinese Academy of Sciences
In addition to Yutu-2, the Chang’e-3 Moon lander that touched down mid-December 2013 within Mare Imbrium and the Chang’e-4 mission lander are both operational on the Moon.
The Chang’e-3 lunar lander dispatched the first Yutu rover that reportedly ceased transmitting data in March 2015.
“While some scientific instruments continue to function and transmit data, researchers are also evaluating their long-term operational capabilities,” CCTV reports.
Next lunar lander
In other China lunar updates, the country’s Queqiao and Queqiao-2 relay satellites are working in orbit around the Moon.
Queqiao mainly provides Earth-moon relay communications for Chang’e-4 and Yutu-2, CCTV adds. After completing its mission for Chang’e-6, Queqiao-2 is currently conducting scientific observations in orbit while awaiting the arrival of Chang’e-7, scheduled for launch around 2026.
Image credit: CCTV/CGTN/Inside Outer Space screengrab
Meanwhile, China’s Chang’e-7 lunar lander mission is tasked to find if there is evidence of water at the Moon’s south pole.
Wu Weiren, chief designer of the country’s lunar exploration project, recently told CCTV that finding water ice would be an important milestone.
“Some international peers have launched probes and they think the detected results show the presence of water molecules in the atmosphere above the south pole,” Wu said. “If this is true, then it’s possible that water exists in the permanently shadowed regions there, likely in the form of ice, as these areas have not been exposed to sunlight for long time. Whether there is water, and how much it is there, are key questions that concern people and the scientists worldwide,” he said.
Image courtesy U.S. Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA) in its “2022 Challenges to Security in Space” report.
Technology testing
Following Chang’e-7, China plans to launch Chang’e-8 around 2028 to test technology for utilizing local lunar resources.
By 2030, China has its sights set on a crewed lunar landing, and by 2035 to establish the core structure of an international lunar research base. According to CCTV, now more than 50 countries and international organizations have signed cooperation agreements with China on the Moon-situated facility.
For a video on China’s Yutu-2 operations, go to:
Posted in Space News
