China lands Jade Rabbit robot rover on Moon

reply to post by Soylent Green Is People


My argument is they should stop pourining millions into projects that are at risk of being cancelled, they must have wasted billions in that regard.

Plus unmanned scientfic exploration may be all noble and all that, but we need reserach and programs we can exploit! Stuff the hubble replacement, start working on a way to start minning the rare earths and He3 sitting up there cause if china or russia get there first i doubt they will be shareing!

NLDelta9
I think those photos look kinda fake. They are supposed to be in sunlight yet you see massive fall off of the lighting on the surface as if is lit by spot light.

edit on 15-12-2013 by NLDelta9 because: (no reason given)

I don't think it is hit by a spotlight, or else the sunlight's shadows would be filled in (at least partially). The shadows in that "spotlight"-looking area are black.

Someone else mentioned the possibility that this image is a photo of a TV screen, which could be a possible explanation for it looking like the light falls off on the edges. This image is from a news agency and not from the space agency -- as if they took a picture of the TV feed of the landing.

I'm not saying that is the case, but it's a possibility.

Well this is an amazing thing to do. Their space program has really advanced. Not that I am a supporter of the government of China but the people who worked so hard to make this happen deserve a lot of credit.

Soylent Green Is People

NLDelta9
I think those photos look kinda fake. They are supposed to be in sunlight yet you see massive fall off of the lighting on the surface as if is lit by spot light.

edit on 15-12-2013 by NLDelta9 because: (no reason given)

I don't think it is hit by a spotlight, or else the sunlight's shadows would be filled in (at least partially). The shadows in that "spotlight"-looking area are black.

Someone else mentioned the possibility that this image is a photo of a TV screen, which could be a possible explanation for it looking like the light falls off on the edges. This image is from a news agency and not from the space agency -- as if they took a picture of the TV feed of the landing.

I'm not saying that is the case, but it's a possibility.

I think the falloff and a lot of the color issues are because a number of the published photos are in fact photographs of images as displayed on the large screens at mission control. In some versions it's obvious because you can see telemetry overlays, but some versions have that info cropped out. It's been common for previous Chinese missions to release images like this, for some reason. Electronic versions of better quality will come later.

wmd_2008


What would be really good would be to compare the first set of images China sends from the rovers landing position with LRO images if they have been taken of that area that may finally shut up some of the Apollo Hoax brigade on here!!!

Already done: lunarnetworks.blogspot.co.uk...
www.abovetopsecret.com...

But what does this have to do with Apollo? China's lander and rover are nowhere near any Apollo landing site.

Cool, I can't wait 'til they show off VHS technology! Exciting advancements!

jade rabit robot rover, quite a tounge twister

wildespace

wmd_2008


What would be really good would be to compare the first set of images China sends from the rovers landing position with LRO images if they have been taken of that area that may finally shut up some of the Apollo Hoax brigade on here!!!

Already done: lunarnetworks.blogspot.co.uk...
www.abovetopsecret.com...

But what does this have to do with Apollo? China's lander and rover are nowhere near any Apollo landing site.

I believe what wmd is talking about is those who refer to the LROC as being fake images generated by NASA.

Showing detailed terrain from the LROC site and then comparing them to the Jade Rabbit rover images of the surrounding terrain would vindicate the LROC.

It's been my personal experience on this site that it won't mater. Those same individuals will most likely claim that the LROC images are still "fake" and that NASA used images from the lunar rover to make the images match.

That or they'll claim that BOTH are fake, heh.

No winning really. Just shrug and move on.

reply to post by Soylent Green Is People


Or it's simply a white/colour balance issue. Which makes the most sense to me. Similar issues happened with processing the colour photos from the Apollo missions. Not to say that the Lunar surface doesn't have some colour to it, but I imagine it's much more subtle.

As for the falloff effect. I believe it's due to it being a cross sun photo and that you're seeing more shadowed surfaces the further away you look from the camera's location. The effect is visible in this famous Apollo photo A S11-40-5903. Especially in the ones with stronger contrast.

reply to post by jra


Also, don't forget that the lunar regolith has been disturbed by the lander's rocket plume as it came down. In the foreground the plume directly impinged on the soil, blowing it away radially (it did not billow or drift slowly above the surface, both of which requires an atmosphere). Further out is the area where the blown soil landed. In the distance we'll see soil which was not affected at all.

Edited to add:

jraThe effect is visible in this famous Apollo photo A S11-40-5903. Especially in the ones with stronger contrast.

Note that, in the photo you referenced, Aldrin is standing directly on an area that was blasted by the LM's descent engine seconds before landing.* In the high-resolution scans, you can see how eroded and smoothed the surface is where he's standing, as opposed to other photos taken further away.

* In the last seconds before landing, Aldrin told Armstrong he was "drifting to the right a little". Armstrong corrected, and at the moment of contact the LM was moving back to the left. In the uncropped photo, you can see the contact probe bent to the right as it got crushed by the left landing pad.

See, that's the difference between the rest of the world and the chinese. The chinese say "hey, we need a space station, they look up in the sky, see the Moon and say 'perfect'. The US says they need a space station, and we get that monumental waste of money the 'international' space station. Well, good luck china! if your smart you'll stay away from that whole "international" space club for losers and star planning on building a MASSIVE missile base on the Moon. Because that's how you role china! FYI, just a little note, don't build your missile base on the dark side. You'll just have to shoot twice as far to hit D.C., Moscow, and Tokyo. !

reply to post by tencap77


I agree with you fully, because now we might say that all those 6 missions to the moon that the American’s did, probably was a complete waste of time and resources, because even if the Chinese just has succeeded in landing an unmanned Rover there, it’s still a political event of huge dimensions that will completely overshadow whatever the American’s have done up there in the past. If it turns out that the Chinese will pursue this moon program even further and even attempt a manned mission, it will be a political earth shake when it happens. The Chinese has manpower they are not afraid to sacrifice in their attempts to beat the Americans and it is only natural that building of a Chinese moon base is the ultimate goal. Think about the consequences if they do this. The Chinese could practically claim that the moon belongs to them, and declare it to be off limits to all other nations. They would use such a political triumph for everything it’s worth. Then those six missions that the American’s did would have been in vain, because they didn’t use the advantage and the possibility they once had back then to go all the way.

But. It could also be seen upon as a wakeup call. After all. The Americans has all the expertise they need to restart their moon program. They already know how to launch manned missions and land them on the moon. They could still beat the Chinese and manage to build the first structure ever on another planet by sending up the constructions parts. However. They have to act now. The Americans are printing 85 billion dollar every month to keep the “Banksters” going. What does it matter if they print some extra. I would after all like to see an American base up there, rather than a Chinese.

China can have the moon, the Mericans are going for Mars cos its bigger. The only problem its red, and red is communist....

In any case, could you actually claim the moon? I mean, they argue over those little islands, but bagging a moon?

At least finally the Apollo hoaxers will have to quieten down, finally Buzz Aldrin can stop winmilling the non believers.

helius
reply to post by tencap77

 

I agree with you fully, because now we might say that all those 6 missions to the moon that the American’s did, probably was a complete waste of time and resources, because even if the Chinese just has succeeded in landing an unmanned Rover there, it’s still a political event of huge dimensions that will completely overshadow whatever the American’s have done up there in the past. If it turns out that the Chinese will pursue this moon program even further and even attempt a manned mission, it will be a political earth shake when it happens. The Chinese has manpower they are not afraid to sacrifice in their attempts to beat the Americans and it is only natural that building of a Chinese moon base is the ultimate goal. Think about the consequences if they do this. The Chinese could practically claim that the moon belongs to them, and declare it to be off limits to all other nations. They would use such a political triumph for everything it’s worth. Then those six missions that the American’s did would have been in vain, because they didn’t use the advantage and the possibility they once had back then to go all the way.

But. It could also be seen upon as a wakeup call. After all. The Americans has all the expertise they need to restart their moon program. They already know how to launch manned missions and land them on the moon. They could still beat the Chinese and manage to build the first structure ever on another planet by sending up the constructions parts. However. They have to act now. The Americans are printing 85 billion dollar every month to keep the “Banksters” going. What does it matter if they print some extra. I would after all like to see an American base up there, rather than a Chinese.

I don't think anyone can claim ownership of the moon thanks to the international treaties that have signed.

I'm pretty sure that, for now at least and just like it was in the past, exploration is primarily political with a scientific edge. It's "Hey ma look at me.." on a grand scale. Any mining operations will undoubtedly reap financial rewards, but they will all be lost in paying back the massive cost of getting there, and any missile bases will be pointless. Should someone fire a rocket at the Earth, the targeted nation can go on holiday for the weekend and then come back to watch it burn up in the atmosphere - it would be a pointless waste of time.

If your interests are malevolent, there are easier and cheaper ways to do it.

eriktheawful
I believe what wmd is talking about is those who refer to the LROC as being fake images generated by NASA.

Showing detailed terrain from the LROC site and then comparing them to the Jade Rabbit rover images of the surrounding terrain would vindicate the LROC.

Here we go.
From the links that wildespace gave.

I've cropped, adjusted for contrast, and rotated the LRO image 180 degrees so thats its an obvious match to the casual reader, but obviously didnt edit any of the actual content...


Its a field of view about 500m wide.
The landing zone is just off the bottom of the image.

LordOfDestruction
jade rabit robot rover, quite a tounge twister

Let's call it Yutu. That's it's actual name.

And let's try to keep this thread free from political discussions, and concentrate on the actual lunar mission.

Great it's about damn time someone other than the US (NASA) and the ESA done something about space exploration.

Our species only chance of survival in this cold hard universe is expansion
we need to start colonising other heavenly bodies
cant keep all our eggs in one basket

I cant wait to see what else China has up its sleeve

reply to post by AutumnWitch657


So how do you explain the mess over the arctic resources ? If there is anything that is as similar (and as problematic this is the one to be looking at). Consider the position of those nations that have been excluded from any benefits from the region (including China) and think on the rationality of it.

The same is valid to the UN (and why the US and UK always pursued leadership in international law makings since the league of nations), to protect the establishment and the perceived rights of these powers (that can't be even defined as older or more advanced, or having made any special investment that merits their primacy).

In any case one needs only look to the videos available from NASA (I haven't seen any from ESA with the same tone or remarks, ESA is even sharing its infrastructure with the Chinese). I many NASA reports you inescapably see remarks about how the Chinese got their technology from Russia and "copied" some from the US, even in regards to their lunch infrastructure to the suits they use. In any case one needs look no further than the US after the fall of the USSR rushed to grab anything that related to space (much like they did with the rockets and other tech from the rest of the world since WW2 from the Nazis to the Brits and the Canadians, it is not by chance that the NSA is by far a cooperative spy for US firms, something that China and USSR/Russia replicated much as a response), this trend is continued and why the US prevented the Chinese from participating into the ISS project.

NASA is not a scientific minded organization it is a geopolitical tool born from brain draining other nations...

scotsdavy1

What is the temperature on the Moon? The temperature on the Moon varies from -387 Fahrenheit (-233 Celsius), at night, to 253 Fahrenheit (123 Celsius) during the day. Because the Moon has no atmosphere to block some of the Sun's rays or to help trap heat at night, its temperature varies greatly between day and night.

This post may help to explain the thermal environment on the Moon:
How Hot is it on the Moon?

China wants to examine the moon to see if it has any natural resources that they can mine, that is why the rover was equipped with that capability.