China's launch today was a success

Surprised nobody's talking about this today...The moon rover mission was launched today and seems to be so far, so good. Below is a link to the English version of the China TV's Lunar Mission mini-site. I, for one, am hoping they send the rover to the US landing site way back when...

english.cntv.cn...

Ahhhh.......I can't wait to hear all the conspiracies on this one. If they do find some cool stuff, hopefully china will share.

I was flipping through to see what to dvr for the week when I decided to turn in to Headlin News with Robin Meade. HLN was formerly CNN's channel that repeated the current headlines like a parrot every half hour, haven't watched it since splitting with Mrs. owlbear...actually, she was more of a Harpy...but I digress...They mentioned that NASA is worried that the Chinese mission will F up their mission to examine the near-nonexistent atmosphere of the moon because the Chinese rover will surely kick up SOME dust with such little gravity. So, it is important enough to mention...but still doesn't beat a derailed train in Brooklyn or more importantly, the shocking death of a B list actor in a firey car crash off-set while filming a SEVENTH movie about firey car crashes. THAT is what the world should care about...

Thank God.

With the USA NASA program in the tank AND under the ever spiteful POTUS, someone has to do it.

And Russia won't be ready for a while as they are too busy MILKING THE USA for them having to use the Russian craft!

Thanks for the change Nobama.

Can't wait to see what they find, or don't find......

While great news from a technology and exploration perspective, in a way, I'm hopeful they're not as forthcoming with photographs posted online as the Mars Curiosity mission, otherwise, we can expect hundreds of future threads about pareidolia.

reply to post by Upyerheart


This is very good news. I was going to put up a thread about it but found this one to follow, although I do suggest the title be changed to include the Rover (China just launched another ship as well, so some may mix up the two). Maybe something like "China launches Moon Rover mission" or something similar.

Here is the mission's Wikipedia page:

en.wikipedia.org...

It will be China's first lunar rover, and the first spacecraft in 37 years to make a soft landing on the Moon, since the Soviet Luna 24 mission in 1976.[9] It is named after Chang'e, the goddess of the Moon in Chinese mythology, and is a follow-up to the Chang'e 1 and Chang'e 2 lunar orbiters. The lunar probe is also called the Yutu, or Jade Rabbit, a name selected in an online poll that comes from a Chinese myth about a white rabbit that lives on the Moon.

An update.
This thing is landing on the moon in a few hours after I type this posting.

Live TV coverage, this link.

reply to post by alfa1


descent starts in about 15 Mins they are saying and than 12 mins to descend so in about half an hour it should be on the moon

double post sorry

OK its on the moon now. They seem happy about there achievement. Good Job China. Can't wait to see the pictures from the rover.

Landing appears to have been a total success.

This page puts the location of the landing site in context with the Apollo landing sites.

alfa1

Landing appears to have been a total success.

This page puts the location of the landing site in context with the Apollo landing sites.

Thanks. I was wondering why it took so long to get there, but I'm glad it did and is safely down. I haven't looked at the new links yet, is there going to be a camera with a live feed on the rover?

Good news.... Now I am just waiting for the complaints that the rover doesn't have a 16MP true colour camera (not a Bayer camera) and not a HD live feed.

No idea what camera they have on it yet, but I doubt it will be a 16MP phone camera, lol.... Development started 10 years ago, so I guess it will be around 2MP, like those 'terrible low res' ones on the mars rover.

Landing Successful!
english.cntv.cn...

I'm looking forward to this. I couldn't care less about pretty pictures either. I want to see that ground penetrating radar data though!!

Ni Hao Chang'e:




www.space.com...

a few more articles from today/yesterday

Space com
China Chang'e 3 Moon Rover Yutu Deployed


Washington Post
China carries out first soft landing on moon in 37 years

On Sunday, a six-wheeled rover named Yutu, or Jade Rabbit, is scheduled to emerge from the landing vehicle and begin a three-month-long mission to explore the moon’s surface.

The moon lander, which weighs more than a ton, landed in the right eye of the lunar feature dubbed the Man in the Moon, in a large and relatively flat volcanic crater known as the Sinus Iridum, or Bay of Rainbows. Its rockets shut off when it was about four yards above the surface, and the craft fell the remaining distance.

The landing craft, which is designed to remain in place and operate for a year, carries a telescope that will survey space from the moon’s surface and an ultraviolet camera that will observe the Earth and the plasmasphere surrounding it.

ATS
China And The Moon. We Were Warned Not To Go Back?

The images are disappointingly small and you cannot see any detail. Rather like the other Change images in fact. There are probably not going to be any secrets about the Moon dropped here.

However, this should be interesting to all scientists from whatever country and should open up the renewed interest in the possibility of humans returning to the Moon once again.

So... what do you think we will find out from this mission?