China has successfully investigated the moon. There, the unmanned Change-5 will prepare to collect the first lunar samples collected since the Soviet Union’s Luna 24 mission in 1976. Here’s what you need to know:
Why has China gone to the moon?
Beijing U.S. And wants to be a space superpower with Russia, which has so far collected lunar samples.
President Xi Jinping hopes to run a permanent space station called Tiangong (Heavenly Palace) – which was launched in early 2022. The first prototype, the Tiangong-1, was launched in 2011 and completed its mission before China lost control of the craft and crashed into the sea in 2018. A space laboratory called Tiang-Ng-2 was started in the year 2016 and was re-controlled. 2019.
As part of China’s space plans, it launched a new rocket and prototype spacecraft in May, called the Long March 5B. China hopes a one-day craft like this will take as many as six crew members to the space station.
The Chang-5 mission provides an opportunity to investigate devices and procedures before the next Tiangong phase.
What will be the use of lunar rocks?
According to AFP, 2 kg of material – dust and debris – is expected to be collected, and scientists will learn about the origin, formation and volcanic activity of the moon on its surface.
Xiao Long, a planetary geologist at the University of Wuhan’s Ge F Geosians, told Nature that he could “rewrite the history of the moon” if he showed volcanic activity still on the moon’s surface 1bn-2bn years ago. Previous lunar material indicates that according to nature this activity ceased about nb billion years ago.
Moon dust is also a strange material, and understanding it is important for the future of space exploration. If you want to know more, this article in Wired, “Why Moon Dust Can Blue Our Moon’s Ambitions” is worth reading.
How will the probe collect lunar samples?
Chang-5, named after the Chinese moon goddess, is equipped with a lander and a climber. These are now separated from the rest of the craft and touched near the 1.3 km high Mons Ramkar, the area of the former incredible part of the Ocean Procelerum (Ocean of Storms), the black spots that make up the head of the moon we can see from the earth. This place is considered to be one of the last active volcanoes of the moon.
Next, the craftsman will drill two meters to the ground, tie the lunar material, climb it to the top of the craft and take it out. It will then deck with the rest of the orbiting spacecraft, where the samples will be transferred before the mounting vehicle is delivered to Jetisson.
The spacecraft will then re-enter Earth’s atmosphere and parachute into the Inner Mongolia region of northern China.
How long will this mission take?
Change-5 needs to complete its target within one lunar day, equivalent to 14 days on Earth, so that it does not have to face many extreme lunar temperatures overnight.
What could go wrong?
Clive Neil, a geologist at the University of Notre Dame in Indiana, told Nature that the lender could crash, collapse or the samples could fall out while walking. The spacecraft will still have to return to Earth in Inner Mongolia earlier this month and land easily.
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