Chang’e-5 now in lunar orbitThe new colonial movement: China’s lunar sample return probe Chang’e-5 has now entered in lunar orbit, with its landing to occur in three days.
Over the next week, the probe, composed of four parts – the orbiter, lander, ascender and Earth re-entry module – will perform multiple complicated tasks on a tight schedule.
The four parts will separate into two pairs. The lander and ascender will head to the moon and collect samples, while the orbiter and Earth re-entry module will continue to fly around the moon and adjust to a designated orbit, getting ready for the docking with the ascender.
The landing operation is expected in three days. Once touched down on the lunar surface, the lander will collect two kilograms of lunar sample.
The plan once on the surface is to gather a sample from the surface as well as from a six-foot deep core sample.
On Christmas Eve 1968 three Americans became the first humans to visit another world. What they did to celebrate was unexpected and profound, and will be remembered throughout all human history. Genesis: the Story of Apollo 8, Robert Zimmerman's classic history of humanity's first journey to another world, tells that story, and it is now available as both an ebook and an audiobook, both with a foreword by Valerie Anders and a new introduction by Robert Zimmerman.
The print edition can be purchased at Amazon or from any other book seller. If you want an autographed copy the price is $60 for the hardback and $45 for the paperback, plus $8 shipping for each. Go here for purchasing details. The ebook is available everywhere for $5.99 (before discount) at amazon, or direct from my ebook publisher, ebookit. If you buy it from ebookit you don't support the big tech companies and the author gets a bigger cut much sooner.
The audiobook is also available at all these vendors, and is also free with a 30-day trial membership to Audible.
"Not simply about one mission, [Genesis] is also the history of America's quest for the moon... Zimmerman has done a masterful job of tying disparate events together into a solid account of one of America's greatest human triumphs."--San Antonio Express-News
The new colonial movement: China’s lunar sample return probe Chang’e-5 has now entered in lunar orbit, with its landing to occur in three days.
Over the next week, the probe, composed of four parts – the orbiter, lander, ascender and Earth re-entry module – will perform multiple complicated tasks on a tight schedule.
The four parts will separate into two pairs. The lander and ascender will head to the moon and collect samples, while the orbiter and Earth re-entry module will continue to fly around the moon and adjust to a designated orbit, getting ready for the docking with the ascender.
The landing operation is expected in three days. Once touched down on the lunar surface, the lander will collect two kilograms of lunar sample.
The plan once on the surface is to gather a sample from the surface as well as from a six-foot deep core sample.
On Christmas Eve 1968 three Americans became the first humans to visit another world. What they did to celebrate was unexpected and profound, and will be remembered throughout all human history. Genesis: the Story of Apollo 8, Robert Zimmerman's classic history of humanity's first journey to another world, tells that story, and it is now available as both an ebook and an audiobook, both with a foreword by Valerie Anders and a new introduction by Robert Zimmerman.
The print edition can be purchased at Amazon or from any other book seller. If you want an autographed copy the price is $60 for the hardback and $45 for the paperback, plus $8 shipping for each. Go here for purchasing details. The ebook is available everywhere for $5.99 (before discount) at amazon, or direct from my ebook publisher, ebookit. If you buy it from ebookit you don't support the big tech companies and the author gets a bigger cut much sooner.
The audiobook is also available at all these vendors, and is also free with a 30-day trial membership to Audible.
"Not simply about one mission, [Genesis] is also the history of America's quest for the moon... Zimmerman has done a masterful job of tying disparate events together into a solid account of one of America's greatest human triumphs."--San Antonio Express-News
I’m betting the sample grab is the least important part of this mission.
Look at the flight profile. They’ve already demonstrated autonomous landing, but in this single flight they will attempt a whole pile of (Chinese) firsts: everything else necessary for either robotic or crewed Lunar missions:
-ascent back into Lunar orbit
-Lunar orbit rendezvous (that legendary phrase) and docking
-transfer of materials between spacecraft
-transfer orbit back to Earth
-entry at Lunar return velocity
-recovery of an interplanetary spacecraft
So the sample grab could fail completely, and the Chinese technorati could still view it as an overwhelming success.
It is certainly not designed as a one-off, but as a test of a complex Earth-Moon infrastructure architecture. Especially if they actually turn around the antenna and use their L2 radio relay satellites while orbiting at the far side of the Moon (during about 45 minutes out of a 2 hour orbital period, that was the case for Apollo’s command module).
Soviet returned samples three times by landing everything and launching a small sample capsule directly back to Earth. The obvious way to do it if some Moon dirt is all one wants.