China Launches Moon Rover Mission

[zorgon]

China Launches Moon Rover Mission

[zorgon]

The Long March-3B rocket carrying the Chang'e-3 lunar probe blasts off from the launch pad at Xichang Satellite Launch Center, Sichuan province, in the early morning hours, Dec. 2, 2013.

VOA News
December 01, 2013

China says the launch of its first ever robotic mission to the moon's surface has been a success

The Chang'e-3 lunar probe, which includes the "Jade Rabbit" rover buggy, blasted off early Monday from the Xichang Satellite Launch Center in China's southwestern Sichuan province.

The probe is scheduled to land on the moon in mid-December to explore its surface and look for natural resources. China aims to become only the third nation to carry out a lunar rover mission following ones from the United States and former Soviet Union decades earlier.

Morris Jones, an Australia-based independent Asia space analyst, says this mission is, in many ways, China's most ambitious.

"Landing on the moon is going to be tricky," Jones said. "The moon is fairly treacherous terrain. There is no pilot on board, and so it's going to take a lot of skill by the onboard computer to steer the vehicle to a safe landing."

This craft is expected to make a "soft" lunar landing, which was last accomplished by the Soviet Union in 1976. "Hard" crash landings are easier, and China crashed a craft into the moon in 2009.

President Xi Jinping has said he wants China to establish itself as a space superpower, and the mission has inspired widespread pride in China's growing technological prowess.

The RAND Corporation's Scott Harold said the space program underscores China's technological nationalism.

"It's definitely a part of the Chinese government's efforts to show that they are coming of age," Harold said. "They are really increasing their technological sophistication and they're playing on a very big stage."

Online reactions to the launch from the Chinese public were mixed, ranging from expressions of pride of country to criticism that the accomplishment was done without the consent of the people and did nothing to help clothe and feed the population.

Beijing aims to establish a permanent space station by 2020 and eventually send someone to the moon.

In 2007, China launched its first moon orbiter, the Chang'e-1 - named after a lunar goddess - which took images of the surface and analyzed the distribution of elements.

http://www.voanews.com/content/china-lauches-moon-rover-mission/1801373.html

[zorgon]

Chang'e-3

Finally a new mission to watch

Chang'e is the Chinese Moon Goddess

[deuem]

They seem to keep these launches a good secrete until they are gone. I have not seen it on the news yet. If they had told me, I could have gone outside and taken pictures of it going overhead. But at least I know what woke me up the other day.

[robomont]

Cool.deuem.
Its so awesome having a group from all over the world.

Maybe they will send back some bait for us to rip apart.
Cant wait for the vid of the shadow destroying the camera.
Maybe they wont have pic issues like nasa.lol.
Come on china.your credibility is on the line.

[zorgon]

Credibility? Ummm we are talking about CHINA here

The faked the Shenzhou 7 spacewalk, the Olymp[ic fire workd and Singer and they faked the first one and only picture of the moon from Chang'e 1.  It was spotted 6 hrs later to be a copy from a clementine image. When China said "No its no fake, see new crater?" Emilly Lackdawalla quickly pointed out tht the 'new crater' was an overlap error

[deuem]

Well, they really did'nt fake the fireworks, they just did them a few days early. If you were there you saw nothing. No foot prints in the sky. They did them over until they got them right, just not the night of the show. Oh Well.  oops!  The space walk was under water in a tank. I heard they shipped the tank to space now so next time it will be both. Forgot to edit out those pesty air bubbles. Oh Well, next time. And the moon shots, I remember working that one with you hot off the press and finding a copy of NASAs work, Oh well, maybe next time. Hey, they have nice trains...

[zorgon]

. Hey, they have nice trains...

So I hear    and lots of pretty girls that they don't seem to want

Funny though... that underwater space mission was the last time GreenEyedLeo was friendly...  she was right on top of it because her hubby worked at Cheyenne Mountain and monitored the Chinese launches.  She was going to send me patches from the Mountain.

Never got them because after that she divorced and became the Mod from Hades

[Somamech]

Here is a quick interview from CCTV with Jia Yang, Deputy Chief Designer of the Jade Rabbit. 

It's very Interesting to Note that it's said in this interview that the Rover that can be seen in this video is a mock up, and if the mission is a success people will get to see the real Jade Rabbit/Rover. 

China's Moon Mission -Moon Rover Uses Cutting-edge Technology



Finally!!! we have a Lunar Mission to Watch

EDIT to add that it's VERY interesting that CCTV say's in this video that the Ruskis went to the moon... as in Biped Ruskis.   

[Somamech]

From what I have found so far it would seem SAST is the main player in this Mission along with the ESA

Helping China to the Moon:

29 November 2013

Shortly after China's Chang'e-3 spacecraft departs Earth to land on the Moon, ESA's network of tracking stations will swing into action, providing crucial support for the vessel's five-day lunar cruise.

China's Chang'e-3, named after the mythological goddess of the Moon, is scheduled for lift off on 1 December from the Xichang launch base in China's Sichuan province on a journey to deposit a lander and a six-wheeled rover on the lunar surface.

The landing, in the Sea of Rainbows on 14 December, will be the first since Russia's Luna-24 in 1976.

Immediately after liftoff, ESA's station in Kourou, French Guiana, will start receiving signals from the mission and uploading commands on behalf of the Chinese control centre.

The tracking will run daily throughout the voyage to the Moon. Then, during descent and after landing, ESA's deep-space stations will pinpoint the craft's path and touchdown.

SOURCE:

http://www.esa.int/Our_Activities/Operations/Helping_China_to_the_Moon

The Jade Wabbit is going to land in Sinus Iridum (Bay of Rainbows). This Image is from Clemintine

[Somamech]

Here's a Good Partner Link in English for Chinese Space Lookers

China Great Wall Industry Corporation 

Link:  http://www.cgwic.com/Partner/

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Overview of SAST in Engrish for the the Laowei's

Shanghai Academy of Spaceflight Technology (SAST)

Link:  http://www.nti.org/facilities/12/

[Somamech]

Nice to add in a bit of Backstory as to Why the Moon Boggy is called "Jade Rabbit" from some young student's in Taiwan 

the Story of Jade Rabbit

Uploaded on 30 Oct 2011

The script for this Moon Festival story was written and performed by the 6th grade students of Siang-He Elementary School in Puzih, Taiwan.

Now if we look closer at the Bay of Rainbows it would seem we found Rabbit's on the Crater Edge in Oz a LONG Time ago but no-one listenz   Grrr

[Amaterasu]

I'll never see the moon the same again.  Thanks, Soma.  [smile]

GFY

[ArMaP]

Never got them because after that she divorced and became the Mod from Hades

And after that she stopped posting and disappeared.

[Somamech]

I'll never see the moon the same again.  Thanks, Soma.  [smile]

GFY

Thanks Amy I'm glad someone got a smile from the wrabbits

On a serious note, I'm really looking forward to see what this mission provide's in the sense of pictorial reference material! 

The wrabbit's may be just as true and only time will tell