Chinese to Launch Lunar Rover Sunday Afternoon (U.S. Time)

First Soft Landing by Any Craft on Moon’s Surface in 37 Years

XICHANG, China — China will launch the its first Lunar Lander on the Chang’e-3 spacecraft to the Moon at 1:30 a.m. Monday (5:30 p.m. UTC, 12:30 p.m. EST, Sunday) from Xichang Satellite Launch Center, the mission’s launching headquarters said here Saturday.

It will be the first time for China to send a spacecraft to soft land on the surface of an extraterrestrial body, where it will conduct surveys on the moon.

It will be China’s first lunar rover, and the first spacecraft in 37 years to make a soft landing on the Moon, since the Soviet Luna 24 mission in 1976.[8] It is named after Chang’e, the goddess of the Moon in Chinese mythology, and is a follow-up to the Chang’e 1 and Chang’e 2 lunar orbiters.

Chang’e-3 comprises a lander and a moon rover called “Yutu” (Jade Rabbit). The lunar probe will land on the moon in mid-December if everything goes according to plan.

Tasks for Yutu include surveying the moon’s geological structure and surface substances, while looking for natural resources.

After entering lunar orbit, Chang’e-3 will go through six stages of deceleration to descend from 15 km above to the lunar surface.

The soft-landing processes of the U.S. and former Soviet Union’s unmanned spacecraft had no capacity to hover or avoid obstacles. Chang’e-3, on the other hand, can accurately survey landforms at the landing site and identify the safest spots on which to land.

In order to land quickly, the probe is equipped with high-precision, fast-response sensors to analyze its motion and surroundings. The variable thrust engine (completely designed and made by Chinese scientists) can generate up to 7,500 newtons of thrust.

Lander
In March 2012, China began manufacturing the body and payload of the Chang’e 3 lander, which will perform lunar surface and space studies independently of the mission’s mobile rover. The stationary lander will be equipped with a radioisotope thermoelectric generator (RTG) in order to power its operations during its planned three-month mission. The lander has a mass of 1,200 kg (2,600 lb) and will have a scientific payload of seven instruments and cameras. In addition to their lunar scientific roles, the cameras will also acquire images of the Earth and other celestial bodies.

The lander is equipped with an astronomical telescope, comprising an extreme ultraviolet camera. It will be world’s first lunar-based astronomical observatory, making long-term continuous observations of important celestial bodies to study their light variation and low galactic latitude. The extreme ultraviolet camera will investigate how solar activity affects the ion layer near the Earth.

Rover
The Chang’e 3 mission incorporates a lunar rover, designed to deploy from the lander and explore the lunar surface independently. The development of the six-wheeled rover began in 2002 at the Shanghai Aerospace System Engineering Institute and was completed in May 2010. The rover stands 1.5 m (4.9 ft) high and weighs approximately 120 kg (260 lb). With a payload capacity of approximately 20 kg (44 lb), the rover may transmit video in real time, and can dig and perform simple analysis of soil samples. It can navigate inclines and has automatic sensors to prevent it from colliding with other objects.

Energy will be provided by a solar panel, allowing the rover to operate through lunar days. The six-wheeled rover is designed to explore an area of 3 square kilometers during its 3-month mission, with a maximum travelling distance of 10 km (6.2 mi). The rover will carry a radar unit on its underside, allowing for the first direct measurement of the structure and depth of the lunar soil down to a depth of 30 m (98 ft), and investigation of the lunar crust structure down to several hundred meters’ depth. It will also carry an alpha particle X-ray spectrometer and an infrared spectrometer.

Landing site
Topographic data from the Chang’e 1 and 2 orbiters were used to select a landing site for Chang’e 3. The lander is scheduled to land on the Sinus Iridum at a latitude of 44° north. The Sinus Iridum is a plain of basaltic lava that forms a northwestern extension to the Mare Imbrium.

Chang’e 3 is scheduled to be the first spacecraft to perform a soft landing on the Moon since the Soviet Union’s Luna 24 in 1976, breaking a 37-year gap in lunar surface exploration.

Facilities at the launching site are in good condition and preparations are going well, according to the headquarters.

The probe will be launched to orbit aboard an enhanced Long March-3B carrier which is more than three meters in diameter and 56.4 meters high.

The mission will be the 25th launch of the Long March-3B, which is the most powerful launch vehicle in the Long March fleet.

Engineers have adopted technologies of high-precision guidance and control, multiple narrow window launches, transmission system for remote sensing, and reduction of the rocket’s deadweight, said Cen Zheng, rocket system commander-in-chief of the mission.

So far, only the United States and the former Soviet Union have soft-landed on the moon.