The Chinese spacecraft “Chang’e 4” is broken in the direction of the moon. A rocket of the type “Long March 3B” lifted off on Friday night against 19.22 GMT from space station Xichang with the 1.2-ton probe into the southwestern Chinese province of Sichuan. In two weeks, Chang’e 4 (Chinese for Moon) to land on the far side of our moon. No telescope can observe the erdabgewandte Region of the moon, no space-faring nation has so far been able to settle a space probe healing. That it is possible to land on the far side of the moon gently, wants to demonstrate the Kingdom of the middle with Chang’e 4.
Manfred Lindinger
editor in the Department “nature and science”.
F. A. Z.
at Least two weeks will it take to Chang’e 4 reaches the surface of the moon. To land on a crater in the Aitken basin the South pole is provided. At the beginning of 2019, the next big stage follows: Of the Board a small six-wheeled Rover will roll, the Chang’e 4 carries. The vehicle is designed to explore the moon surface and moon rocks to analyze.
That of China as a rising space-faring nation in the position of a probe on the moon to sell, Beijing proved five years ago. At the time, the identical probe “Chang’e 3 has been landed” with a Rover on the earth-facing side of our satellites. However, the mobile robot “Yutu” (Jadehase) was only 140 meters away until he remained in the moon dust stuck to it. Thanks to technical improvements, it is hoped that a greater range of the Rover from Chang’e 4.
stars and growing vegetables in the look
A great technical challenge was the communication with the control centre. The probe and the Rover are all the time on the moon back in the radio shadow on the earth. For this reason, Beijing had brought in may of this year, a communications satellite, intended to serve as a Relay Station for Chuang‘e 4. He is stationed 60,000 kilometers behind the moon festival and the moon with Chang’e 4, and the earth all the time.
in addition to the exploration of the moon and astronomical observations of the starry sky with radio waves, another project is on the scientific Agenda: On Board of Chang’e 4, a greenhouse with seed. It should be tested whether growing vegetables on the moon’s surface is in a closed environment at the low. For the photosynthesis required carbon dioxide to deliver larvae of silkworms. A camera captures what is happening on the ground.
For China is its ambitious moon program is also a powerful prestige project. The middle Kingdom since 2013, in addition to Russia and the United States to the select group of Nations, which has so far achieved a Moon landing. After landing on the far side, it could possibly start as early as next year, a Mission of moon rock back to earth. According to Chinese plans to land up to 2030, for the first time Chinese astronauts on the moon.
