Images of the Moon's Lesser-Known Side Taken by Chinese Space Endeavor
Shedding Light on the Moon's Dark Side: Exploring the Lunar Frontier with Chang'e 4 and Beyond
In the opening of 2019, the scientific community was buzzing with excitement as a significant void in our understanding of the solar system was finally addressed. Probes had journeyed to every celestial body nearby, from earth-bound comets to distant asteroids and even Saturn's moons. Achievement upon achievement, we peered into the deepest recesses of our galaxy, outshining the 1972 Apollo program's conclusion and the last robotic lunar mission of 1976.
The Chinese Space Agency reached this milestone with the successful landing of the Chang'e 4 mission on the lunar surface on January 3, 2019, leaving behind the first marks of dust in just 12 hours with the lunar rover "Yutu-2."
The Chang'e 4 mission signaled a revival of interest in the moon, which had been in decline since the Apollo era. However, it wasn't until the Chinese landed the first Yutu spacecraft on the moon's visible side as part of the Chang'e 3 mission in December 2013, that China became the third country after the United States and the Soviet Union to achieve such a feat.
Unfortunately, the Chang'e 3 mission faced technical problems that left the spacecraft stationary soon after landing. Building on this experience, the Chinese Space Agency made a daring maneuver, sending Chang'e 4 to the far side of the moon, the region that remains hidden due to the earth's gravitational pull.
Landing during the new moon, when the near side is dark, and the far side is illuminated, allowed Chang'e 4 to spend two weeks in complete darkness, followed by two weeks in sunlight. This was necessary to gather valuable information about this mysterious region.
The first images from the far side were captured in 1959, but it wasn't until Chang'e 4 in 2019 that a probe managed to land there. NASA had considered sending Apollo 17 to the far side but abandoned the idea due to communication difficulties caused by the moon blocking direct radio signals from Earth.
Since then, we've been treated to a steady stream of photos and panoramas from the Yutu-2 rover, revealing the enigmatic appearance of the moon's far side. Initially planned to last till April 2020, Yutu-2 has surpassed expectations, continuing to conquer new distances on the far side of the moon. Recently, the Chinese Space Agency shared brand new images from the moon's far side here.
Looking ahead, the Chinese Space Agency is preparing for the launch of Chang'e 5, which, if all goes according to plan, will take place before the end of the year. Unlike Chang'e 4, this mission is aimed at returning to Earth with at least 2 kilograms of lunar samples. This achievement will open new doors for lunar research and pave the way for a new generation of discoveries about the moon.
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Insights:- Cross-border Collaboration: Chang'e 5's lunar samples have been shared with international researchers, leading to groundbreaking findings. This collaboration marks a milestone in global space research [1][2].- Chang'e 5's Lunar Findings: The mission revealed the existence of new lunar minerals, including Changesite-(Y) and two different structures of the titanium compound Ti2O, making China the third country to discover a new lunar mineral [3].- Future Horizons: Beyond the Chang'e 5 mission, China is eyeing other milestones in lunar exploration, including the Chang’e 6 mission in 2024, which aims to bring basalt samples from the moon's far side [4][5]. China's space exploration plan envisions a broader strategy, going beyond lunar missions with missions like Tianwen-2, the country's first asteroid probe and sampling mission [2].
- The significance of the Chinese Space Agency's Chang'e 4 mission extended beyond its landing on the lunar surface, as it reignited interest in the moon's exploration, especially in the field of environmental-science and space-and-astronomy.
- The Chang'e 5 mission, expected to launch before the end of the year, will not only continue China's lunar exploration but also propel technological advancements, with the aim of bringing back lunar samples to Earth for further study and analysis.
- In the realm of international collaboration, the Chang'e 5 mission stands out for its sharing of lunar samples with global researchers, fostering advancements in scientific understanding in the fields of history, as well as environmental-science and space-and-astronomy.
