* Astronomy

Blobrana · L

RE: Chang'e Lunar Satellite

Blobrana · L

China plans to launch its first lunar exploration satellite, Chang'e I, in the latter half of this year
According to Huang Chunping, former commander-in-chief of the launch vehicle system used by the country's manned space mission and a member of the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC), the satellite will be raised into space by a Long March 3-A carrier rocket.
The orbiter will provide 3D images of the moon's surface, probe the distribution of 14 usable elements on the moon, study lunar microwaves and estimate the thickness of the moon's soil.

Source Xinhua

Blobrana · L

Ouyang Ziyuan, the Chief Scientist of the lunar exploration program announced China will be ready to launch its first moon satellite soon at a scientific forum on Friday.
The Chang'e I lunar satellite will orbit the earth three times after the launch, accelerating to a speed fast enough to allow it to escape the pull of gravity and head for the moon.
The satellite will slow down as it nears its destination, then circle the moon three times before settling into the orbit planned for it.
Ouyang said the time frame available for the launch is limited to just 35 minutes every month. The Chang'e I will lift off ahead just before the monthly time to avoid missing the opportunity.
The launch of the Chang'e I will mark the launch of the three stage Chinese lunar exploration project.

Source Beijing Morning Post

Blobrana · L

A prototype of China's proposed lunar orbiter went on display at a major air show on Monday.
The prototype on display at Airshow China 2006 in Zhuhai, in south China's Guangdong Province, in a 50-square-meter sand pit, a simulation of the surface of the moon, is produced by China Aviation Industry Corp.
The orbiter, named "Chang'e 1" after the legendary Chinese goddess who flew to the moon, will be launched at the Xichang Satellite Launch Centre in southwest China's Sichuan Province in 2007.

Source: Xinhua

Blobrana · L

"Chang'e 1", China's first lunar survey satellite, has been planned to be launched in Xichang Satellite Launch Centre in April next year. Research and development on the final flying model plane has been taking place" - Ouyang Ziyuan, an academician of Chinese Academy of Science as well as the chief scientist of Chinese moon probe project on the branch of the 36th Cospar Scientific Assembly held on July 21st.

"Chang'e 1"will achieve four great scientific goals.

"One is that it will gain the three- dimensional solid blip of the lunar terrain with high precision. The second is it will investigate 14 kinds of available elements on the surface of the moon. The third is it will determine the temperature on the surface of the moon with the microwave radiation technology, and survey the characteristic and thickness of lunar soil. The fourth is that it will probe the space environment of the earth and moon" - Ouyang Ziyuan in a science report named "China's Moon Probe Plan".

He also said that there is a special material named helium-3 contained in the lunar soil that is a kind of nuclear fusion fuel with the characteristics of high energy produced by reactivity and no radioactivity, which will solve the energy-short problems effectively if it is used. We can estimate the amount of resource of helium C 3 as long as the thickness of the lunar soil is probed precisely because the content of helium C 3 in the lunar soil is stable. "Chang'e 1"will carry on a survey on the thickness of lunar soil over the moon for the first time in the world.

Source People's Daily

Blobrana · L

According to Chinese state media, a lunar satellite will transmit 30 pieces of Chinese music to Earth next year.

The satellite, which has a budget of 1.4-billion yuan, is part of China's three-phase lunar project, and is designed to obtain three-dimensional images of the moon's surface and analyse the lunar soil for useful elements and materials.
It will also probe the space environment between the earth and the moon.
The Chang'e-1 lunar probe will orbit the moon for one year. The orbiter is based on the Dongfanghong 3 systems Comsat bus and will have a mass of roughly 2 350 kilograms, with 130 kilograms of extra equipment.
The satellite will be launched on a Long March 3A (CZ-3A booster rocket) from the Xichang Satellite Launch Centre in China's southwestern Sichuan Province.

The Commission of Science, Technology and Industry for National Defence, which is in charge of the lunar project, is seeking recommendations from the public on which tunes to play. The public will be able to choose from a list of 150 songs put forward by the commission's Lunar Probe Engineering Centre, which includes music from the country's 56 ethnic groups, pop music from the mainland, Taiwan and Hong Kong and opera soundtracks.

The satellite is named "Chang'e" after the legendary Chinese goddess who flew to the moon. The lunar crater Chang-Ngo is named after her.