Jump to content

Chang'e 6

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Chang'e 6
The Chang'e 6 lander (with the ascender on top) on the far side of the Moon. The photo was taken from a mobile camera-equipped rover that was released from the lander
Mission typeSurface sample return
OperatorCNSA
COSPAR ID2024-083A Edit this at Wikidata
SATCAT no.59627Edit this on Wikidata
Mission duration52 days, 20 hours and 39 minutes
Spacecraft properties
ManufacturerCAST
Launch mass8,350 kg (18,410 lb)[1]
Start of mission
Launch date3 May 2024 (2024-05-03)
09:27:29 UTC[2][3]
RocketLong March 5
Launch siteWenchang
End of mission
Landing date25 June 2024
06:07 UTC
Return capsule
Landing siteInner Mongolia, China
Lunar orbiter
Orbital insertion8 May 2024
02:12 UTC[4]
Orbital departure20 June 2024
~15:00 UTC
Orbital parameters
Periapsis altitude220 km (140 mi)
Inclination137°
Lunar lander
Landing date1 June 2024
22:23:16 UTC[5][6]
Return launch3 June 2024
23:38:10 UTC[7]
Landing siteSouthern mare of Apollo Basin
41°38′19″S 153°59′07″W / 41.6385°S 153.9852°W / -41.6385; -153.9852[8][9]
Lunar rover
Landing date1 June 2024
22:23:16 UTC[5][6]
Landing siteSouthern mare of Apollo Basin[8]
Docking with Sample Ascender
Docking date6 June 2024
06:48 UTC[10]
Undocking date6 June 2024
 
Chang'e probes

Chang'e 6 (Chinese: 嫦娥六号; pinyin: Cháng'é liùhào) was the sixth robotic lunar exploration mission by the China National Space Administration (CNSA) and the second CNSA lunar sample-return mission mission. Like its predecessors in the Chinese Lunar Exploration Program, the spacecraft is named after the Chinese moon goddess Chang'e. It was humanity's first lunar mission to retrieve samples from the far side of the Moon.[11]

The mission began on 3 May 2024 when the spacecraft was launched from Hainan. Its lander and rover touched down on the lunar far side on 1 June 2024.[12][5] The lander's robotic scoop and drill took samples from the lunar surface and the ascender module then carried these into lunar orbit on 3 June 2024.[13] The ascender docked with the orbiter module in lunar orbit on 6 June 2024 and transferred the samples to an atmospheric re-entry module which then returned to Earth. The mission's lander and rover also conducted scientific experiments on the lunar surface.

The overall mission lasted about 53 days, ending on 25 June 2024 with the return capsule re-entering the atmosphere with the samples, landing by parachute in Inner Mongolia.[14]

Overview[edit]

Further information: Chinese Lunar Exploration Program
See also: Lunar south pole and far side of the Moon

The Chinese Lunar Exploration Program is designed to be conducted in four[15] phases of incremental technological advancement:

  • The goal of the first phase was to reach lunar orbit. This was completed by Chang'e 1 in 2007 and by Chang'e 2 in 2010.
  • The second phase sought to land and rove on the Moon, a feat that was accomplished by Chang'e 3 in 2013 and by Chang'e 4 in 2019.
  • The third phase involves the collection of lunar samples and sending them to Earth, first completed by Chang'e 5 in 2020 and in progress by Chang'e 6.
  • The fourth phase consists of the development of a robotic research station near the Moon's south pole.[15][16][17] The program aims to facilitate crewed lunar landings in the 2030s and possibly build a crewed outpost near the lunar south pole.[18]

The preceding Chang'e 5 mission returned 1.731 kilograms (3.82 lb) of material from the northern hemisphere of the lunar near side.

The Chang'e 6 mission landed on the southern hemisphere of the lunar far side to gather more material. Specifically, the landing segment of the Chang'e 6 mission touched down in a relatively flat area lying in the southern portion of the Apollo crater, which itself lies within the larger South Pole-Aitken (SPA) impact basin on the lunar far side. Scientists hope that the samples collected from the landing area may include lunar mantle material ejected by the original impact that created the SPA basin, material which can shed light on the differences that exist between the lunar near-side and far-side, and on the origin of the Moon and the Solar System..[2]

The Chang'e 6 lander landed at 22:23 UTC on 1 June 2024 in the southern mare of Apollo Basin (lunar coordinates: 41°38′19″S 153°59′07″W / 41.6385°S 153.9852°W / -41.6385; -153.9852).[5][19] After the completion of sample collection and the placement of the sample on the ascender by the probe's robotic drill and robotic arm, the ascender took off from atop the lander portion of the probe at 23:38 UTC on 3 June 2024.[7][20] The ascender docked with the Chang'e 6 service module (the orbiter) in lunar orbit at 06:48 UTC on 6 June 2024 and subsequently completed the transfer of the sample container to the Earth return module at 07:24 UTC on the same day.[21] On 25 June 2024, the return capsule landed in Inner Mongolia. [22]

The mission's lander collected approximately 2 kilograms (4.4 lb) of lunar far-side material including surface soil and rocks (using a scoop) and subsurface samples (using a drill). China was the first nation to bring back samples from the far side of the Moon.[14]

The hole left by the sampling was in the shape of the character zhong (中) which is the initial character of China's name Zhōngguó 中国. This symbolism went viral on Weibo.[23]

Mission architecture[edit]

Chang'e 6 was built as a copy of and backup to Chang'e 5.[24] The mission is reported to consist of four modules:

  • Lander: landed on the lunar surface after separating from the Orbiter, equipped with a drill and a scooping device. The Ascender was on the top of the Lander. It collected about 2 kg (4.4 lb) of samples from 2 metres (6.6 ft) below the surface[25] and placed them in the attached ascent vehicle to be launched into lunar orbit.
  • Ascender: The ascent vehicle then made a fully autonomous and robotic Lunar orbit rendezvous and docking with Orbiter where the samples were robotically transferred into a sample-return capsule for their delivery to Earth.[26][27]
  • Orbiter: after the samples were transported from the Ascender to the Orbiter, the Orbiter left lunar orbit and spent ~4.5 days flying back to Earth orbit and released the Returner (reentry capsule) just before arrival.
  • Returner: The Returner will perform a skip reentry to bounce off the atmosphere once before formal reentering.

The estimated launch mass is 8,200 kg (18,100 lb)—the lander is projected to be 3,200 kg (7,100 lb) and the ascent vehicle is about 700 kg (1,500 lb).[28][26][29]

Science payloads[edit]

In October 2018, Chinese officials announced that they would call for international partners to propose an additional payload up to 10 kg (22 lb) to be included in this mission.[30] In November 2022, it was announced that the mission would carry payloads from four international partners:[31][32]

Lander[edit]

  • A French instrument called DORN (Detection of Outgassing Radon) to study the transport of lunar dust and other volatiles between the lunar regolith and the lunar exosphere, including the water cycle.[33]
  • The Italian instrument INRRI (INstrument for landing-Roving laser Retroreflector Investigations) consists of a retroreflector that precisely measures distances from the lander to orbit,[34] similar to those used in the Schiaparelli and InSight missions.
  • The Swedish NILS (Negative Ions on Lunar Surface), an instrument to detect and measure negative ions reflected by the lunar surface.[35]

Orbiter[edit]

Rover[edit]

Chang'e-6 carried a mini rover described as a mobile camera rover.[12] The rover is expected to support research into the composition of the lunar surface, the presence of water ice in the lunar soil via an imaging infrared spectrometer and image the Chang'e 6 lander on the lunar surface.[38]

Mission stages[edit]

Chang'e-6 Landing Region in South of Apollo Basin, South Pole-Aitken Basin[39]

Launch[edit]

Before/after animation showing Chang'e 6 lander as photographed by the NASA's Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter.[40]

The probe was launched by a Long March 5 rocket at 09:27 UTC, on 3 May 2024, from Wenchang Satellite Launch Center on Hainan Island.[41][42]

Earth-Moon transfer[edit]

After launch, Chang'e 6 entered a 12-hour orbit around the Moon at 02:12 UTC, on 8 May 2024.[4]

The lander/ascender/rover separated from the orbiter/returner on 30 May 2024, in preparation for landing.[43]

Landing[edit]

At 22:06 UTC, on 1 June 2024, the Chang'e 6 lander/ascender, with the support of the Queqiao-2 relay satellite, descended from its 200 kilometer (124 miles) orbit altitude.[43][44] It used its autonomous obstacle avoidance system, visible light camera, and laser 3D scanner to detect and avoid lunar obstacles and uneven terrain. At 22:23 UTC, it landed in the preselected area of the South Pole–Aitken basin on the far side of the Moon.[43] The engine was cut for the final approach and a cushioning system was used for the freefall touchdown.[45]

Return[edit]

At 23:38 UTC on 3 June 2024, the Chang'e 6 ascender (carrying the samples) took off from the far side of the Moon and entered the predetermined circumlunar orbit. This was the world's first sampling and takeoff on the far side of the Moon.[46][47]

At 06:48 UTC on 6 June, 2024, the Chang'e 6 ascender rendezvoused and docked with the orbiter/returner in lunar orbit. At 07:24 UTC, the lunar sample container was safely transferred to the returner.[10]

On 21 June 2024, the service module of Chang'e 6 likely fired its engines to return to Earth from lunar orbit. CNSA has not provided an updates on the mission. Some amateur optical and radio observers reported a probable engine burning.[48]

The re-entry to earth happened on 25 June 2024.[49] An atmospheric re-entry module of about 300 kilograms separated from the service module which had flown back from the moon.[49] This then decelerated by skipping off the atmosphere over the Atlantic before its final descent.[49] This capsule containing about 2 kilograms of samples landed by parachute at 06:07 UTC in the predesignated area of Siziwang Banner in Inner Mongolia.[22] Search teams waiting for the capsule reached it within minutes using helicopters.[22]

The samples will be studied by Chinese scientists in collaboration with international experts. In the previous case of Chang'e 5 in 2020, direct access to samples by international partners started about three years after their return.[22]

See also[edit]

References[edit]

  1. ^ "Historic journey from Chang'e 6 lifts off". China National Space Administration. 3 May 2024. Archived from the original on 3 May 2024. Retrieved 3 May 2024.
  2. ^ a b Jones, Andrew (10 January 2024). "China's Chang'e-6 probe arrives at spaceport for first-ever lunar far side sample mission". SpaceNews. Archived from the original on 3 May 2024. Retrieved 10 January 2024.
  3. ^ "Long March 5 – Chang'e 6". nextspaceflight.com. Archived from the original on 29 April 2024. Retrieved 3 May 2024.
  4. ^ a b "嫦娥六号探测器成功实施近月制动顺利进入环月轨道飞行" (in Simplified Chinese). 中国新闻网. 8 May 2024. Archived from the original on 8 May 2024. Retrieved 8 May 2024.
  5. ^ a b c d Jones, Andrew (1 June 2024). "Chang'e-6 lands on far side of the moon to collect unique lunar samples". SpaceNews. Archived from the original on 2 June 2024. Retrieved 1 June 2024.
  6. ^ a b Seger Yu [@SegerYu] (1 June 2024). "落月时刻 2024-06-02 06:23:15.861" (Tweet) (in Chinese) – via Twitter.
  7. ^ a b Lee, Liz; Baptista, Eduardo (3 June 2024). "China's Chang'e-6 lifts off from far side of moon". Reuters.com. Retrieved 3 June 2024.
  8. ^ a b "大陸「嫦娥六號」明年5月發射 擬帶回月球背面岩石採樣" (in Traditional Chinese). 聯合報. 25 April 2023. Archived from the original on 25 April 2023. Retrieved 25 April 2023.
  9. ^ "First Look: Chang'e 6". Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter Camera. 14 June 2024. Archived from the original on 14 June 2024. Retrieved 15 June 2024.
  10. ^ a b "新华全媒+丨嫦娥六号完成月球轨道交会对接与在轨样品转移" (in Simplified Chinese). 新华网. 6 June 2024. Archived from the original on 6 June 2024. Retrieved 6 June 2024.
  11. ^ published, Rahul Rao (25 June 2024). "China's Chang'e 6 probe will soon bring samples of the moon's far side to Earth — and scientists are getting excited". Space.com. Retrieved 25 June 2024.
  12. ^ a b "嫦娥六号着陆器和上升器合影来了!". CNSA.
  13. ^ Jones, Andrew (10 January 2024). "China's Chang'e-6 probe arrives at spaceport for first-ever lunar far side sample mission". SpaceNews. Retrieved 25 June 2024.
  14. ^ a b "China launches Chang'e 6 sample-return mission to moon's far side (Video)". Space.com. 3 May 2024. Archived from the original on 3 May 2024. Retrieved 3 May 2024.
  15. ^ a b Chang'e 4 press conference Archived 15 December 2020 at the Wayback Machine. CNSA, broadcast on 14 January 2019.
  16. ^ China's Planning for Deep Space Exploration and Lunar Exploration before 2030 Archived 3 March 2021 at the Wayback Machine. (PDF) XU Lin, ZOU Yongliao, JIA Yingzhuo. Space Sci., 2018, 38(5): 591–592. doi:10.11728/cjss2018.05.591
  17. ^ A Tentative Plan of China to Establish a Lunar Research Station in the Next Ten Years Archived 15 December 2020 at the Wayback Machine. Zou, Yongliao; Xu, Lin; Jia, Yingzhuo. 42nd COSPAR Scientific Assembly. Held 14–22 July 2018, in Pasadena, California, USA, Abstract id. B3.1-34-18.
  18. ^ China lays out its ambitions to colonize the moon and build a "lunar palace" Archived 29 November 2018 at the Wayback Machine. Echo Huang, Quartz. 26 April 2018.
  19. ^ Segar Yu (2 June 2024). "@SegarYu" (in Simplified Chinese). X. Archived from the original on 2 June 2024. Retrieved 2 June 2024.
  20. ^ Huaxia (3 June 2024). "China's spacecraft takes off from moon with first samples from lunar far side". Xinhua.com. Archived from the original on 4 June 2024. Retrieved 3 June 2024.
  21. ^ Jones, Andrew (6 June 2024). "Chang'e-6 spacecraft dock in lunar orbit ahead of journey back to Earth". SpaceNews. Archived from the original on 8 June 2024. Retrieved 6 June 2024.
  22. ^ a b c d "China's Chang'e-6 moon mission returns to Earth with historic far side samples". CNN. 25 June 2024. Archived from the original on 25 June 2024. Retrieved 25 June 2024.
  23. ^ Limited, Bangkok Post Public Company. "China"s lunar lander lifts off from far side with cargo of dirt". Bangkok Post. Archived from the original on 5 June 2024. Retrieved 4 June 2024.
  24. ^ "Apollo 13 Crew". Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum. Archived from the original on 24 October 2020. Retrieved 6 January 2018.
  25. ^ Andrew Jones (7 June 2017). "China confirms landing site for Chang'e-5 Moon sample return". GB Times. Archived from the original on 28 March 2019. Retrieved 17 December 2017.
  26. ^ a b Future Chinese Lunar Missions Archived 4 January 2019 at the Wayback Machine. David R. Williams, NASA Goddard Space Flight Center. Accessed on 30 November 2018.
  27. ^ "Chang'e 5 test mission". Spaceflight101.com. 2017. Archived from the original on 4 October 2017. Retrieved 17 December 2017.
  28. ^ Chang'e 5 and Chang'e 6 Archived 3 April 2017 at the Wayback Machine. Gunter Dirk Krebs, 'Gunter's Space Page'. Accessed on 9 January 2019.
  29. ^ China well prepared to launch Chang e-5 lunar probe in 2017: top scientist Archived 10 January 2019 at the Wayback Machine. China Academy of Space Technology (CAST). 25 October 2016.
  30. ^ China invites international cooperation in Chang'e-6 Moon sample return mission Archived 17 December 2019 at the Wayback Machine. Andrew Jones, "GB Times". 1 October 2018.
  31. ^ CNSA Watcher [@CNSAWatcher] (25 November 2022). "On Nov 24, CNSA confirmed Chang'e 6 lunar landing mission will launch in 2025. Countries participating: China, EU, Italy, France, Sweden, and Pakistan. Also confirmed by CNSA: "hopper" probes will explore shadowed craters for iced water in Chang'e 7 & 8" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  32. ^ Jones, Andrew (20 December 2022). "China picks 4 international payloads for historic sample-return mission to moon's far side". Space.com. Archived from the original on 15 April 2024. Retrieved 1 May 2024.
  33. ^ "State visit of President Macron to China – In 2023, Chang'e 6 will deploy the French DORN instrument on the Moon to study the lunar exosphere". CNES. 6 November 2019. Archived from the original on 19 December 2020. Retrieved 7 November 2019.
  34. ^ "Chang'e-6 launch: What to expect". Planetary Society. 29 April 2024. Archived from the original on 3 May 2024. Retrieved 4 May 2024.
  35. ^ Canu-Blot, Romain; Wieser, Martin; Barabash, Stash (23 September 2022). "The Negative Ions at the Lunar Surface (NILS): first dedicated negative ion instrument on the Chang'E-6 mission to the Moon". 16th Europlanet Science Congress 2022. Bibcode:2022EPSC...16..992C. doi:10.5194/epsc2022-992.
  36. ^ Institute of Space Technology, Islamabad. "ICUBE-Q". Archived from the original on 2 May 2024. Retrieved 3 May 2024.
  37. ^ "Pakistan's 'historic' lunar mission to be launched on Friday aboard China lunar probe". DAWN. 30 April 2024. Archived from the original on 1 May 2024. Retrieved 1 May 2024.
  38. ^ Jones, Andrew (6 May 2024). "China's Chang'e-6 is carrying a surprise rover to the moon". SpaceNews. Archived from the original on 8 May 2024. Retrieved 8 May 2024.
  39. ^ "HKU Geologists Reveal Mysterious and Diverse Volcanism in Lunar Apollo Basin, Chang'e-6 Landing Site". The University of Hong Kong. Archived from the original on 18 June 2024. Retrieved 19 June 2024.
  40. ^ "NASA's LRO Spots China's Chang'e 6 Spacecraft on Lunar Far Side". NASA. 14 June 2024. Retrieved 23 June 2024.
  41. ^ Stewart, Simone McCarthy, Marc (3 May 2024). "China launches moon probe as space race with US heats up". CNN. Archived from the original on 3 May 2024. Retrieved 3 May 2024.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  42. ^ Baptista, Eduardo (4 May 2024). "China launches historic mission to retrieve samples from far side of the moon". Reuters. Archived from the original on 3 May 2024. Retrieved 6 May 2024.
  43. ^ a b c "嫦娥六号着陆月背南极-艾特肯盆地 将按计划开展月背采样" (in Simplified Chinese). 中国新闻网. 2 June 2024. Archived from the original on 2 June 2024. Retrieved 2 June 2024.
  44. ^ "China lunar probe successfully lands on far side of Moon to collect samples". France 24. 2 June 2024. Retrieved 2 June 2024.
  45. ^ China's Chang'e-6 lands on moon's far side to collect samples, 2 June 2024, archived from the original on 2 June 2024, retrieved 2 June 2024
  46. ^ "新华鲜报丨世界首次!嫦娥六号携月背"土"特产启程回家". 新华网. Archived from the original on 5 June 2024. Retrieved 4 June 2024.
  47. ^ "China's far-side Moon mission begins journey back". BBC. 4 June 2024. Archived from the original on 4 June 2024. Retrieved 5 June 2024.
  48. ^ "Chang'e-6 heads for Earth with first-ever lunar far side samples". SpaceNews. 23 June 2024. Retrieved 24 June 2024.
  49. ^ a b c Jones, Andrew (25 June 2024), "Chang'e-6 delivers first lunar far side samples to Earth after 53-day mission", SpaceNews, retrieved 26 June 2024

External links[edit]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Chang'e 6.
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Chang%27e_6&oldid=1231075876"