In January 2019 , Chinamade historyby shoot down its Chang’e-4 space probe on the far side of the Moon . One yr on , and theChinese National Space Administration ( CNSA)has release a big batch of exposure from the Chang’e-4 lander and attach to Yutu-2 rover .
appoint after theChinese goddessof the Moon , Chang’e-4 bring down in the Von Kármán Crater in the southern hemisphere of the Moon . This volcanic crater lies within one of the heavy impact craters in the solar organization , theSouth Pole - Aitken basin , which has a diameter of roughly 2,500 klick ( 1,600 miles ) .
The Yutu-2 rover – literally translate as " Jade Rabbit " , the companion of moonshine goddess Chang’e – has since venturedover 345 meters ( 1,132 feet)across the Moon ’s aerofoil and captured some truly breathtaking range .
concord toSpace.com , this recent selection comprises faithful - up vista of the crater , the distant skyline , unclouded shots of regolith ( Moon grime ) , as well as prototype of the lander and rover , include Yutu-2 ’s tracks .
Whilst the images have all been made publically available by theCNSA , Doug Ellison , a Mars photographer at NASA ’s Jet Propulsion Lab , hasprocessed several of the imagesandshared them on Twitter . Doug has even collated several thousand bod from the Chang’e-4 ’s landing camera to grow this“real meter ” videoof the probe ’s descent .
The Chang’e-4 lander and Yutu-2 rover have just beenwoken upfor their fourteenth lunar day . Eachlunar dayis made up of around 14 Earth mean solar day of daylight and 14 Earth days of night - metre . Therefore , the solar - powered equipment is active for the lunar daylight and powers down for the lunar night - sentence . Considering Chang’e-4 lander and Yutu-2 rover’sexpected lifetimeswere 1 twelvemonth and 3 months severally , their 14th lunar day is a big achievement .
Data from the ballistic capsule will continue to be relayed to Earth via theQueqiao communications planet . Translated as“magpie bridge ” , the artificial satellite is placed just beyond the Moon at a point of gravitational stability . This allows the signal from the far side of the Moon , which never face Earth , to reach our satellite .
The third phase of theChinese Lunar Exploration Programis set to launchlater this year . TheChang’e-5mission will collect approximately 2 kg ( 4.4 pound ) of lunar sample from the near side of the Moon and send them back to Earth .
[ H / T : Space.com ]
