EXPLORE


JOINRENEWJOIN

Messages from Earth
  

Planetary News: Chang'e (2007)

Chang'e, China's first Lunar Mission, Launched

October 24, 2007
Chang'e 1
Click to enlarge >
Chang'e 1
Credit: CAST

A bold new mission to the Moon was launched today by the Chinese National Space Administration (CNSA). Chang ‘e-1 blasted off from the Xichang Satellite Launch Center in Sichuan province, atop a Long March 3A rocket. It represents the first step in the Chinese ambition to land robotic explorers on the Moon before 2020.

Chang ‘e-1 has four mission goals to accomplish. The first is to make three-dimensional images of many lunar landforms and outline maps of major lunar geological structures. This mapping will include the first detailed images taken of some regions near the lunar poles.

The spacecraft is also designed to analyze the abundance of up to 14 chemical elements and their distribution across the lunar surface. Thirdly it will measure the depth of the lunar soil and lastly it will explore the space weather between the Earth and the Moon.

More On Chang'e


Explore More


The spacecraft is large, weighing in at 2350kg and it will operate from a low, circular lunar orbit, just 200km above the surface of the Moon. From here, it will perform its science mission for a full year.

To perform its science mission, Chang ‘e-1 carries a variety of instruments: a CCD stereo camera, a laser altimeter, an imaging interferometer, a gamma-ray/X-ray spectrometer, a microwave radiometer, a high-energy particle detector, and a solar wind particle detector.

ESA, the European Space Agency, is collaborating with the Chinese on this mission by providing spacecraft and ground operations support services to CNSA. During ESA ‘s SMART-1 mission, the agency provided the Chinese with details of the spacecraft's position and transmission frequencies, so that the Chinese could test their tracking stations and ground operations by following it. This was part of their preparation for Chang ‘e-1, and today it is Chang ‘e-1's turn to fly.

Chang'e 1 lifts off
Click to enlarge >
Chang'e 1 lifts off
Credit: scitech.people.com.cn

Named after a Japanes folk heroine who floated to the Moon, Chang ‘e-1 represents the first phase in the Chinese Lunar Exploration Program (CLEP). This program is expected to last until around 2020 and the next phase will include a lander and a rover. Looking farther into the future, plans are being drawn up for a sample return mission to bring lunar rocks to Earth for analysis.

Chang’e is the second mission of the International Lunar Decade, which was proposed and advocated by The Planetary Society. It follows the Japanese Kaguya which launched in September and arrived in its lunar orbit earlier this month. "We welcome China as the newest space-faring nation engaged in the peaceful exploration of the solar system" said Louis Friedman, Executive Director of The Planetary Society.