. Moon News .




.
MOON DAILY
Senior scientist discusses China's lunar orbiter challenges
by Staff Writers
Tianjin, China (XNA) Sep 26, 2012

File image: Chang'e-3.

Landing and enduring extreme temperatures will be the two biggest challenges facing Chang'e-3, China's third lunar probe, the chief scientist of China's lunar orbiter project told academics on Wednesday.

Every effort is being made to ensure the soft-landing of the Chang'e-3 orbiter, said Ouyang Ziyuan on Wednesday in a report delivered at the conference of the Academy of Sciences for the Developing World.

Different from the hard-landing adopted for the first lunar probe, Chang'e-1, Chang'e-3 cannot land with a parachute, explained Ouyang. "A smooth and steady soft landing on the lunar surface will be a challenge," he said of the project, which will see Chang'e-3 launched in the second half of 2013 to conduct a moon landing and lunar explorations.

Plans have been made for Chang'e-3 to free-fall after being slowed down by counterforce as it approaches the lunar surface, Ouyang said.

After it lands on the moon, Chang'e-3 will have to endure heat during the day and extremely low temperatures at night. The prolonged lunar night can see temperatures drop below minus 180 degrees Celsius.

However, Ouyang said a complete plan has been put forward to cope with the sharp temperature variations, and China's indigenously developed atomic batteries will be installed to help the device withstand intense heat and cold.

"The hope is that China completes the three-phase unmanned lunar probe projects of orbiting, landing and returning in 2017, so as to pave the way for a manned lunar mission in the future," said the chief scientist.

China launched Chang'e-1 in 2007 and Chang'e-2 in 2010. The first probe retrieved a great deal of scientific data and a complete map of the moon, while the second created a full high-resolution map of the moon and a high-definition image of its feature Sinus Iridium.

Source: Xinhua News Agency

Related Links
China National Space Administration
Mars News and Information at MarsDaily.com
Lunar Dreams and more




.
.
Get Our Free Newsletters Via Email
...
Buy Advertising Editorial Enquiries






.

. Comment on this article via your Facebook, Yahoo, AOL, Hotmail login.

Share this article via these popular social media networks
del.icio.usdel.icio.us DiggDigg RedditReddit GoogleGoogle



MOON DAILY
NASA sees 'gateway' for space missions
Washington (UPI) Sep 24, 2012
NASA has proposed a candidate for its next major mission, a "gateway" spacecraft on the far side of the moon as a staging base for moon and Mars missions. The spacecraft would hover in orbit on the far side of the moon, support a small permanent crew and function as "stepping stone" for missions to the lunar surface and possible flights to Mars. NASA Administrator Charles Bolden ... read more


MOON DAILY
Mars-like Places on Earth Give Insights into Rover Data

Curiosity Finishes Close Inspection of Rock Target

Where is Deimos?

Curiosity Completes Longest Drive Yet

MOON DAILY
Does Triton Have a Subsurface Ocean?

Saturn and its Largest Moon Reflect Their True Colors

Giant Ice Avalanches On Iapetus Provide Clue To Extreme Slippage Elsewhere In The Solar System

River networks on Titan point to a puzzling geologic history

MOON DAILY
Sharpest-ever Ground-based Images of Pluto and Charon: Proves a Powerful Tool for Exoplanet Discoveries

The Kuiper Belt at 20: Paradigm Changes in Our Knowledge of the Solar System

e2v To Supply Large CMOS Imaging Sensors For Imaging Kuiper Belt Objects

Fly New Horizons through the Kuiper Belt

MOON DAILY
China has no timetable for manned moon landing

Senior scientist discusses China's lunar orbiter challenges

NASA sees 'gateway' for space missions

Protection for Moon, Mars astronauts eyed

MOON DAILY
A Tecnalia study reveals the loss of nanomaterials in surface treatments caused by water

Precision Motion Tracking - Thousands of Cells at a Time

Nanoengineers can print 3D microstructures in mere seconds

Improved nanoparticles deliver drugs into brain

MOON DAILY
ORBITEC Has Real "Vision" For Its New AUSEP Rocket Engine

NASA Selects Space Launch System Advanced Development Proposals

Space formula of Konstantin Tsiolkovsky

XCOR Announces FiberDyne as Lynx Mark I Wing Strake Manufacturer

MOON DAILY
China's manned spacecraft in final preparations for mid-June launch

China Spacesat gets 18-million-USD gov't support

Tiangong Orbit Change Signals Likely Date for Shenzhou 10

China Focus: Timeline for China's space research revealed

MOON DAILY
Russia to send all-novice crew to ISS

ATV undocking postponed

Space freighter undocking set for Friday

Crew Members Prepare for Departure


Memory Foam Mattress Review

Newsletters :: SpaceDaily Express :: SpaceWar Express :: TerraDaily Express :: Energy Daily
XML Feeds :: Space News :: Earth News :: War News :: Solar Energy News

.

The content herein, unless otherwise known to be public domain, are Copyright 1995-2012 - Space Media Network. AFP, UPI and IANS news wire stories are copyright Agence France-Presse, United Press International and Indo-Asia News Service. ESA Portal Reports are copyright European Space Agency. All NASA sourced material is public domain. Additional copyrights may apply in whole or part to other bona fide parties. Advertising does not imply endorsement,agreement or approval of any opinions, statements or information provided by Space Media Network on any Web page published or hosted by Space Media Network. Privacy Statement