WENCHANG, China (AP) – Chinese technologists have been making final preparations for a mission to bring material back from the lunar surface for the first four years since Monday – an undertaking that could accelerate human understanding of the moon and solar system more generally.
Chang 5 – Named after the Chinese moon goddess – is the country’s most ambitious lunar mission. If successful, it would be a major breakthrough for China’s space program, and some experts say it could pave the way for bringing samples from Mars or even a crewed lunar mission.
The Long March-5Y rocket was launched Monday evening, before being scheduled for 4 to 5 a.m. Tuesday (2000 and 2100 GMT Monday, 3 p.m. and 4 p.m. EST Monday) on the South Island, the China National Space Administration said in a statement. In the sales launch center on the province Henan.
Usually the secret administration had earlier only confirmed that the launch would be at the end of November. The spacecraft usually takes three days to reach the moon.
The main task of the mission is to drill 2 meters (about 7 feet) below the surface of the moon and bring back about 2 kilograms (4..4 pounds) of rocks and other debris to Earth, according to NASA. It will give scientists the first opportunity to study newly acquired lunar material since American and Russian missions in the 1960s and 1970s.
The time of Changa 5 Lander on the moon will be short and sweet. It can only last one lunar day or about 14 Earth days, as it lacks radioisotope heating units to cope with the lunar night.
The lander will dig for the material with his drill and robotic arm and transfer it to the so-called climbing place, which will lift it out of the moon and dock it with a “service capsule”. The material will then be moved to the return capsule for a trip to Earth.
The technical complexity of the Changi 5, with its four modules, makes it “remarkable in many ways”. Said John Johnson-Fris, a space expert at Naval War College.
He said China is proving itself capable of developing and successfully implementing high-tech programs that are important for influence and potential global engagement in the region.
In particular, the ability to collect samples from space is increasing in value, said Jonathan McDowell, an astronomer at the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics. Other countries that plan to get material from asteroids or even Mars could draw attention to China’s experience, he said.
While the mission is “really challenging,” McDowell said China has already landed twice on the moon with its Chang 3 and Chang 4 missions, and the 2014 Chang 5 test mission showed it could return to Earth. , Re-insert and unload a capsule. The rest is to show that it can collect specimens and re-emerge from the moon.
“As a result, I’m very optimistic that China can pull this off,” he said.
The mission is one of the bravest in China since it first launched a man into space in 2003, becoming the third nation to do so after the US and Russia.
China’s crude spaceflight achievements, including the construction of an experimental space station and the operation of a space walk, have been reproduced over many years by other countries, including the CNSA. Now moving into a new field.
Changi 4 – which was the first soft lander from a relatively distant side of the moon about two years ago – is currently collecting complete measurements of radiation exposure from the lunar surface, important information for any country that plans to send astronauts to the moon.
In July China became one of three countries to launch a mission to Mars, in the case of China an orbiter and a rover that will detect water signals on the red planet. CNSA Says the spacecraft Tianwen is due to arrive on Mars around February 1st.
China is increasingly engaged on missions with foreign countries, and the European Space Agency will provide information on important ground stations for Changi 5.
U.S. The law still prevents most cooperation with NASA, except for China partnering with the International Space Station. Which has encouraged China to start work on its own space station and launch its own programs in Asian countries that are in constant competition with Japan and India, which want to achieve new achievements in space.
With relatively few shocks in recent years, China’s space program has proceeded cautiously. The rocket used for the current launch failed in a previous launch attempt, but has since performed without error, including the launch of the Chang 4.
Freeze-Johnson said China works in a very incremental way by developing building blocks for long-term use for many missions. He said China’s one-party dictatorial system “also allows for long-term political will, which is often difficult in democracies.”
U.S. Closely following China’s success, experts say China is unlikely to cooperate in space amid political suspicions, military hostilities and allegations of theft of Chinese technology.
“The U.S. is committed to space cooperation,” Johnson Frees said. The change in policy is not likely to attract the attention of the government in the near future.
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