Sunday, February 17, 2013

Go China, go China, go China's Chang'E 3 - To The Moon


I might say go USA - NASA, but I am not sure anyone is listening.
The following link has a number of images and a video clip.
- LRK -

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The Chang'e 3 lunar lander and rover, expected to launch late this year

Posted By Emily Lakdawalla

2013/01/09 03:46 CST

One of the missions planned for launch this year is China's Chang'E 3. I had never paid any attention to Chang'E 3 until this week, so I had no idea how large or ambitious it is. Chang'E 3 is a 1200-kilogram, RTG-powered lunar soft lander with a 1-year nominal mission lifetime. On top of that, it includes a 100-kilogram rover equipped with cameras and APXS. The rover has a nominal lifetime of 3 months and range of 10 kilometers. Wow. Here's a cool artist's concept that Glen Nagle put together. Enjoy it -- this is the first time it's been published!
Artist's concept of Chang'e 3 rover on the Moon
Glen Nagle
Artist's concept of Chang'e 3 rover on the Moon
I find that the best place on the Internet to find information and links about Asian missions is NASAspaceflight.com. Following is a summary of information from links posted within the NASAspaceflight Chang'E 3 forum. Many thanks to all the participants in that forum for sharing all this helpful information! I've collected all the photos of Chang'E 3 that I could find there and put them into a single Flickr album:

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And from DRAGON IN SPACE
- LRK -

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Chang'e 3

Chang’e 3 is the third robotic lunar probe mission of the China Lunar Exploration Programme (CLEP). Scheduled to be launched in 2013~14, the probe will soft-land on the Moon surface and deploy an unmanned Lunar Rover to explore the areas surrounding the landing spot. The mission is heded by the State Administration of Science, Technology and Industry for National Defence (SASTIND) and the primary contractor for the probe is the China Academy of Space Technology (CAST) of the China Aerospace Science & Technology Corporation (SASC).

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Chang'e 3 at Wikipedia
- LRK -

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Chang'e 3 is a lunar exploration mission operated by China National Space Administration, incorporating a robotic lander and a rover. Chang'e 3 is scheduled for launch in late 2013 as part of the second phase of the Chinese Lunar Exploration Program.[1][5] It will be China's first lunar rover, and the first spacecraft to make a soft landing on the Moon since the Soviet Luna 24 mission in 1976.[6] It is named after Chang'e, the Chinese goddess of the Moon, and is a follow-up to the Chang'e 1 and Chang'e 2 lunar orbiters.

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At NASA WATCH
- LRK -

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If Chang'e-3 Lands, Google Lunar X Prize Drops by 25%

By Keith Cowing on November 14, 2012 2:40 PM

Summary of Rules and Requirements, Google Lunar X Prize
"The competition's grand prize is worth $20 million. To provide an extra incentive for teams to work quickly, the grand prize value will change to $15 million whenever a government-funded mission successfully explores the lunar surface, currently projected to occur in 2013."
"Ma said the Chang'e-3 would probe and explore the lunar surface, and carry out various environmental and space technology related tests. It will spend 15 days on the moon to lay the foundations of what he called, further deep space exploration."
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This could be an interesting year so I will just say - GO, GO, GO to the MOON - ANYONE !!! - START A GOLD RUSH.

Thanks for looking up with me.  
- LRK -
 
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WHAT THE MIND CAN CONCEIVE, AND BELIEVE, IT WILL ACHIEVE - LRK -

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