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thewayneThis probe, the Chang-e 6, touched down successfully Sunday morning Beijing time. This is their second successful landing, the first, the Chang-e 4, landed in 2019.
The mission is multi-part, and complex. The lander is a robotic probe that is slated to gather 2 kilograms of soil and dust using a drill and scoop. It will package them and place them in a ascent rocket which will then rendezvous with an orbiting unmanned ship which will return to Earth, reenter the atmosphere, and hopefully land near the Chinese space complex in Mongolia.
The region they are in is believed to be high in frozen water and is a potential base site for a future manned base. Analysis of these samples will be helpful in planning for this.
Because everything is happening on the far side of the moon, the probe would normally be in a total communications blackout. To work around this, the Chinese launched a communications relay satellite in March, the Queqiao-2. They are planning two more Chang-e missions in preparation for manned missions in 2030.
Now I would like to refer you to a book, A City On Mars, by Kelly & Zach Weinersmith. Zack is a web cartoonist and author, Kelly is a PhD scientist. They spent four years deeply immersed in researching the literature of living in space, attending conferences, talking to scientists, astronauts, and enthusiasts. And overall, their conclusion is 'No, not at this time.' There are far too many unknowns to support rushing off and building bases on the Moon or Mars. While we have a large amount of people-years in near Earth orbit, we have a total of less than a month of people living on the moon. We need a methodical study of people living in orbit, conducting controlled experiments of what happens to people living in space, which has not been done. Are the Chinese going to do it? Doubtful.
It's a good book, some of the cartoons are amusing. Recommended. It's also available as an ebook through most sources.
https://www.cnn.com/2024/06/01/china/china-change6-moon-landing-intl-hnk-scn/index.html
The mission is multi-part, and complex. The lander is a robotic probe that is slated to gather 2 kilograms of soil and dust using a drill and scoop. It will package them and place them in a ascent rocket which will then rendezvous with an orbiting unmanned ship which will return to Earth, reenter the atmosphere, and hopefully land near the Chinese space complex in Mongolia.
The region they are in is believed to be high in frozen water and is a potential base site for a future manned base. Analysis of these samples will be helpful in planning for this.
Because everything is happening on the far side of the moon, the probe would normally be in a total communications blackout. To work around this, the Chinese launched a communications relay satellite in March, the Queqiao-2. They are planning two more Chang-e missions in preparation for manned missions in 2030.
Now I would like to refer you to a book, A City On Mars, by Kelly & Zach Weinersmith. Zack is a web cartoonist and author, Kelly is a PhD scientist. They spent four years deeply immersed in researching the literature of living in space, attending conferences, talking to scientists, astronauts, and enthusiasts. And overall, their conclusion is 'No, not at this time.' There are far too many unknowns to support rushing off and building bases on the Moon or Mars. While we have a large amount of people-years in near Earth orbit, we have a total of less than a month of people living on the moon. We need a methodical study of people living in orbit, conducting controlled experiments of what happens to people living in space, which has not been done. Are the Chinese going to do it? Doubtful.
It's a good book, some of the cartoons are amusing. Recommended. It's also available as an ebook through most sources.
https://www.cnn.com/2024/06/01/china/china-change6-moon-landing-intl-hnk-scn/index.html
no subject
Date: 2024-06-10 06:25 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2024-06-10 06:33 pm (UTC)The probe successfully left the moon and apparently docked with its return stage and is on its way to Earth! Here's hoping for a successful reentry and landing.