Lander sends Jade Rabbit photographs back to Earth
Print Edition
China’s first moon rover and lander took photos of each other on the moon’s surface last night, a move that marked the success of the country’s Chang’e-3 lunar mission, said Ma Xingrui, chief commander of China’s lunar program.
The one-minute photography session came a day after the country completed its first lunar soft landing, the first of its kind in nearly four decades.
At about 11:42pm, the six-wheeled Yutu, or Jade Rabbit, moved to a spot about 9 meters north of the lander and the picture taking began.
The color images, transmitted via a deep space network designed by China, showed the Chinese national flag on Yutu.
As one of the photographs appeared on a screen at the Beijing Aerospace Control Center, senior state leaders and dozens of center staff members burst into applause.
President Xi Jinping was at the center to congratulate staff members on the mission.
Yutu will now set out to survey the moon’s geological structure and surface and look for natural resources for a period of three months, while the lander will conduct in-situ exploration at the landing site for a year.
The 140-kilogram rover separated from the lander and drove onto the lunar surface at 4:35am yesterday, several hours after the probe had landed on the moon’s surface at 9:11pm on Saturday.
The rover can climb slopes of up to 30 degrees and travel at 200 meters per hour, according to the Shanghai Aerospace Systems Engineering Research Institute.
Chang’e-3 landed on the moon’s Sinus Iridum, or Bay of Rainbows, making China the third country in the world to complete such a mission after the United States and Soviet Union. The last soft landing was carried out by the Soviet Union in 1976.
Before landing, the probe slowed down from 1,700 meters per second and then hovered for about 20 seconds, using sensors and 3D imaging to identify a flat area. Thrusters were then deployed 100 meters from the lunar surface to gently guide the craft into position.
The soft landing process began at 9pm on Saturday.
The soft landing had been considered the most difficult part of the mission.
“It’s still a significant technological challenge to land on another world,” Peter Bond, consultant editor for Jane’s Space Systems and Industry, told The Associated Press.
“Especially somewhere like the moon, which doesn’t have an atmosphere so you can’t use parachutes or anything like that.
“You have to use rocket motors for the descent and you have to make sure you go down at the right angle and the right rate of descent and you don’t end up in a crater on top of a large rock.”
In ancient Chinese mythology, Yutu was the white pet rabbit of the lunar goddess Chang’e.
The name for the rover was selected following an online poll that attracted several million votes from people around the world.
Chang’e-3 is part of the second phase of China’s lunar program, which includes orbiting, landing and returning to the Earth. The mission had blasted off from southwest China on December 2.
It follows the success of the Chang’e-1 and Chang’e-2 missions in 2007 and 2010.
China sent its first astronaut into space in 2003, becoming the third nation after Russia and the United States to achieve manned space travel independently. In 2006, it sent its first probe to the moon. China plans to open a space station around 2020 and send an astronaut to the moon after that.
News of the soft landing quickly made an impact on China’s hugely popular Internet message boards, topping the list of searched items.
“The China dream has finally progressed one step forward!” was one comment.
“Our lunar rover has made it to the moon, marking China’s rise and making the Chinese people proud” was another.
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