China ready to land robot rover on Moon

[Waspie_Dwarf]

China ready to land robot rover on Moon

China is set to land a robotic rover on the surface of the Moon, a major step in the Asian superpower's ambitious programme of space exploration.

On Saturday afternoon (GMT), a landing module will undergo a powered descent, using thrusters to perform the first soft landing on the Moon in 37 years.

Several hours later, the lander will deploy a robotic rover called Yutu, which translates as "Jade Rabbit".

Read more...

[Waspie_Dwarf]

ESA teams ready for Moon landing

13 December 2013 When China’s Chang’e-3 makes a soft landing on the Moon on 14 December, ESA tracking stations will record crucial radio signals. Later, signals from the surface will help Beijing mission control to pinpoint the lander’s location with extreme accuracy.

ESA’s Estrack network – a system of ten tracking stations in seven countries – has been providing critical support to China’s third Chang’e mission, starting just after its spectacular launch earlier this month and continuing during its cruise to the Moon.

Read more...

[coolguy]

I hope they have a video camera on this robot

[Waspie_Dwarf]

I hope they have a video camera on this robot

The lander has three cameras. The rover has six cameras.

Most space probes don't carry video cameras. Moving images are made from a series of stills. This uses far less processing power, far less bandwidth in transmission and gives better quality images.

With no atmosphere on the Moon there are not a lot of moving objects to video anyway.

Edited December 14, 2013 by Waspie_Dwarf
removed unnecessary apostrophe

[+joc]

The lander has three cameras. The rover has six cameras.

Most space probes don't carry video camera's. Moving images are made from a series of stills. This uses far less processing power, far less bandwidth in transmission and gives better quality images.

With no atmosphere on the Moon there are not a lot of moving objects to video anyway.

Maybe they'll video the American Flag so the Flat Earth society will finally believe that it wasn't just a Hollywood Set.

[Waspie_Dwarf]

Maybe they'll video the American Flag so the Flat Earth society will finally believe that it wasn't just a Hollywood Set.

As they are landing no where near any of the Apollo sites that isn't going to happen.

[+joc]

We should have claimed the moon...then they'd have to pay us a fee for going there.

[Waspie_Dwarf]

We should have claimed the moon...then they'd have to pay us a fee for going there.

Then the USA would have been in breach of international law. As a signatory of the UN Outer Sace Treaty of 1967 the USA agrees that no government can claim any celestial body.

China, as a fellow signatory would have simply ignored any claims made by the USA.

The Soviet Union (another signatory), having had the first hard impact on the Moon and the first soft landing would probably have laughed at such a ridiculous suggestion.

[Waspie_Dwarf]

Most space probes don't carry video cameras.

Further research shows that the Lunokhod 2 rover carried slow scan TV cameras, however it would be a huge stretch to describe these as video cameras. They had three resolution settings. At the lowest setting it took 3.2 seconds to return a single frame (that is correct, it's seconds per frame NOT frames per second). At the highest resolution it took 21.1 seconds per frame.

[+joc]

Then the USA would have been in breach of international law. As a signatory of the UN Outer Sace Treaty of 1967 the USA agrees that no government can claim any celestial body.

China, as a fellow signatory would have simply ignored any claims made by the USA.

The Soviet Union (another signatory), having had the first hard impact on the Moon and the first soft landing would probably have laughed at such a ridiculous suggestion.

Damn it...I knew there was a catch in there somewhere. Well, I for one am glad that the Chinese are going to the moon...whatever they do will no doubt increase awareness and most probably increase desire to visit Mars.

[Waspie_Dwarf]

Well, I for one am glad that the Chinese are going to the moon...whatever they do will no doubt increase awareness and most probably increase desire to visit Mars.

I agree.

There is some international co-operation happening here, with ESA helping track the mission. NASA is also hoping that there will be an exchange of scientific results which will aid their current lunar missions (see HERE).

China have built two of these landers/rovers. If Chang'e 3/Yutu is successful the Chang'e 4 lander with its rover will be launched in 2015.

Chang'e 5 is due for launch in 2018, but will need the new heavy-lift rocket, the Long March 5E, to enter service first. That will be a sample return mission and will bring back the first lunar samples since the Soviet Luna 24 mission of 1976.

[+joc]

I was wondering if they were doing it all on their own or if there was some sort of an international collaberation.

[Waspie_Dwarf]

I was wondering if they were doing it all on their own or if there was some sort of an international collaberation.

The design and manufacture of the lander and rover are entirely Chinese, as was the launch vehicle, so from that point of view they are doing this on their own.

ESA are helping with the tracking of the vehicle, they have a far more extensive and experienced tracking net work when it comes to deep space probes.

Data from the mission is likely to go to Chinese academies and universities first (the scientific payload would have been developed in these places) but results will be shared with the scientific community.

There is the possibility of the sharing of data as this will be mutually beneficial to researchers from the USA and China.