CNSA news, Updates and Discussions

skywatcher

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According to CNSA, future Chinese robotic missions by 2030 include:
1. Chang'e 6 Moon sample return 2023/2024 (under development) by Long March 5
2. Chang'e 7 robotic Moon station 2023 (under development) by Long March 5
3. Asteroid sample return mission 2024 (under development, top priority) by Long March 3B
4. Chang'e 8 robotic Moon station 2026 (planned) by Long March 5
5. Mars sample return mission 2028 (under development) by Long March 9 super heavy or two Long March 5 launches
6. Jupiter orbiter mission and Uranus flyby 2028-2030 (under development) by Long March 9 super heavy
7. Chang'e 9, 10 robotic Moon station before 2030 (planned) by Long March 5
All the robotic Moon missions will be used to facilitate a crewed Moon landing in around 2030
 

skywatcher

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According to CNSA, future Chinese robotic missions by 2030 include:
1. Chang'e 6 Moon sample return 2023/2024 (under development) by Long March 5
2. Chang'e 7 robotic Moon station 2023 (under development) by Long March 5
3. Asteroid sample return mission 2024 (under development, top priority) by Long March 3B
4. Chang'e 8 robotic Moon station 2026 (planned) by Long March 5
5. Mars sample return mission 2028 (under development) by Long March 9 super heavy or two Long March 5 launches
6. Jupiter orbiter mission and Uranus flyby 2028-2030 (under development) by Long March 9 super heavy
7. Chang'e 9, 10 robotic Moon station before 2030 (planned) by Long March 5
All the robotic Moon missions will be used to facilitate a crewed Moon landing in around 2030
The Chinese Lunar Exploration Program is designed to be conducted in four phases of incremental technological advancement:

  1. The first was simply reaching lunar orbit, a task completed by Chang'e 1 in 2007 and Chang'e 2 in 2010.
  2. The second is landing and roving on the Moon, as Chang'e 3 did in 2013 and Chang'e 4 in 2019 (launched in December 2018, landed on the far side of the Moon in January 2019).
  3. The third phase is collecting lunar samples from the near side and sending them to Earth, a task for the ongoing Chang'e 5 and the future Chang'e 6 missions.
  4. The fourth phase consists of the development of a robotic research station near the Moon's south pole.
The program aims to facilitate a crewed lunar landing in around 2030 and possibly build an outpost near the lunar south pole.
 

skywatcher

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Chinese mission accomplishes first-ever robotic docking in lunar orbit

The Chinese Chang’e 5 mission accomplished the first robotic docking between two spacecraft orbiting the moon Saturday, when a lunar ascent spacecraft linked up with an Earth return vehicle and transferred a container of moon rocks to bring home in mid-December.

The two solar-powered spacecraft docked in lunar orbit at 4:42 p.m. EST (2142 GMT) Saturday, according to the China National Space Administration, completing an automated rendezvous sequence that demonstrated deep space guidance and navigation technology.

A claw on the Chang’e 5 orbiter captured the ascender to complete the link-up in lunar orbit.

The container of moon rocks collected on the lunar surface was transferred from the ascent vehicle to the Earth return spacecraft at 5:12 p.m. EST (2212 GMT), Chinese officials said.

After confirming the sample transfer, the Chang’e 5 return craft jettisoned the ascent vehicle at 11:35 p.m. EST Saturday (0435 GMT Sunday). The ascender will be left behind in lunar orbit when the return ship comes back to Earth in mid-December.

The return vehicle is expected to fire its engines to leave the moon’s orbit Dec. 13, setting course for landing of the sample capsule in China’s Inner Mongolia region a few days later.

The docking Saturday occurred two days after the Chang’e 5 ascent vehicle launched from the moon’s surface, the first takeoff of a spacecraft from a large planetary body since the Soviet Union’s Luna 24 mission in 1976. Luna 24 was also the last mission to return lunar materials to Earth.

The automatic docking between the Chang’e 5 ascender and return vehicle was similar to maneuvers performed by NASA’s Apollo missions. On those flights, astronauts docked the Apollo lunar and command modules in orbit around the moon.

Experts considered the launch of the Chang’e 5 ascent vehicle and the automated docking in lunar orbit two of the sample return mission’s most challenging phases.

After Chang’e 5 returns to Earth later this month, scientists will take the lunar material to a climate-controlled facility to begin analyses on the rocks. Researchers hope to learn about the moon’s history and evolution.

Chang’e 5 launched Nov. 23 and entered orbit around the moon Nov. 28 before the lander detached from the mission’s orbiter and return module to begin descent maneuvers.

The successful landing of Chang’e 5 on Tuesday marked the third time China has soft-landed a spacecraft on the moon, following the Chang’e 3 mission in 2013 and Chang’e 4 in 2019. Chang’e 4 became the first spacecraft to achieve a soft landing on the far side of the moon, a feat enabled by the placement of a purpose-built Chinese data relay satellite in deep space.

Chang’e 3 and Chang’e 4 carried rovers to serve as mobile scouts exploring the lunar landscape. Chang’e 5’s mission on the lunar surface had no mobile rover, and the craft was designed to complete its work in two days while in sunlight, rather than surviving the two-week super-cold lunar night.

Chinese officials said the Chang’e 5 surface mission proceeded as planned. CNSA confirmed the lander first drilled samples from a depth of up to 6.6 feet, or 2 meters, then used a scoop at the end of a robotic arm to gather soil from the surface.

The spacecraft packaged and sealed the lunar material in a storage device carried by the Chang’e 5 ascender before it took off Thursday.

The Chang’e 5 mission’s goal was to collect more than 4 pounds, or 2 kilograms, of rocks for return to Earth. Chinese officials have not released an estimate of how much material the spacecraft gathered on the moon.

The Chang’e lunar program is named for a moon goddess in Chinese folklore.



 

Indx TechStyle

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Won't deny that none of you all is behind anyway in this wanking contest, I'm going to clean up thread now.
 

fire starter

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According to CNSA, future Chinese robotic missions by 2030 include:
1. Chang'e 6 Moon sample return 2023/2024 (under development) by Long March 5
2. Chang'e 7 robotic Moon station 2023 (under development) by Long March 5
3. Asteroid sample return mission 2024 (under development, top priority) by Long March 3B
4. Chang'e 8 robotic Moon station 2026 (planned) by Long March 5
5. Mars sample return mission 2028 (under development) by Long March 9 super heavy or two Long March 5 launches
6. Jupiter orbiter mission and Uranus flyby 2028-2030 (under development) by Long March 9 super heavy
7. Chang'e 9, 10 robotic Moon station before 2030 (planned) by Long March 5
All the robotic Moon missions will be used to facilitate a crewed Moon landing in around 2030
spreading cancer (communism) in space I won't be surprised if your evil country start claiming moon.
 

skywatcher

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China now holds the world's last giant radio telescope after US Arecibo Observatory radio telescope collapsed



China's 500-meter Aperture Spherical Radio Telescope (FAST)

After tragedy struck the Arecibo Observatory in Puerto Rico on Wednesday, the scientific community mourned the loss of an astronomical landmark.

There is now only one last remaining giant, single-dish, radio telescope in the world: China's 500-meter Aperture Spherical Radio Telescope (FAST).

Completed in 2016 and located in the Guizhou province of southwest China, the observatory cost $171 million and took about half a decade to build. Its sheer size allows it to detect faint radio-waves from pulsars and materials in galaxies far away; 300 of its 500-meter diameter can be used at any one time.

Experts say that in the next decade, FAST is expected to shine in terms of studying the origins of supermassive black holes or identifying faint radio waves to understand the characteristics of planets outside the solar system.


In November, Chinese state media reported that in 2021, the FAST facility would become open to use for foreign scientists.

The National Astronomical Observatory under the Chinese Academy of Sciences, which oversees FAST, did not immediately respond to comment.


Before and after shots of the Arecibo telescope
 

skywatcher

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iSpace completed its first 3 meter in diameter cryogenic propellant coplanar tank for the methane powered Hyperbola-2Z prototype rocket in Nov 2020
0076xCn7ly4glf9n46hb7j30u00miwgb.jpg
 

skywatcher

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Landspace carried out its methane fueled pintle injector variable thrust rocket engine hot fire test on 26 Nov 2020
0076pMobly1glbs9vrgejj310y0ie1kx.jpg
 
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skywatcher

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Landspace carried out another hot fire test for its 80 ton thrust methalox engine TQ-12 on 4 Dec 2020
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00686eaKgy1glf85g80t7j31680u0tnu.jpg
 
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skywatcher

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Chang'e 5 ascender made a controlled impact on Moon after mission completed. the service module and the re-entry capsule with lunar samples will depart from lunar orbit on 12 Dec 2020 and the re-entry capsule will separate from the service module before high speed re-entry to Earth on 16 Dec 2020.
 

smooth manifold

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A Long March 3B rocket launched a Gaofen 14 cartographic satellite into SSO from Xichang on 6 Dec 2020.
It is the 354 flight of Long March series.

Orbital launches from Chinese launch centers: 385
(Long March/Kuaizhou/Smart Dragon/Kaituozhe/Hyperbola/Ceres)
Jiuquan - 135
Xichang - 150
Taiyuan - 89
Wenchang - 9
Yellow Sea - 2

Coming up next:
A Long March 11 rocket will launch the Gravitational wave high-energy Electromagnetic Counterpart All-sky Monitor (GECAM) binaries from Xichang on 10 Dec 2020.
A Long March 11 rocket launched the Gravitational wave high-energy Electromagnetic Counterpart All-sky Monitor (GECAM) binaries from Xichang on 10 Dec 2020.
It is the 355 flight of Long March series.

8f2f11dfa9ec8a13b3800ea4e003918fa1ecc0e4.gif

Orbital launches from Chinese launch centers: 386
(Long March/Kuaizhou/Smart Dragon/Kaituozhe/Hyperbola/Ceres)
Jiuquan - 135
Xichang - 151
Taiyuan - 89
Wenchang - 9
Yellow Sea - 2

Coming up next:
A Long March 8 rocket will launch 9 satellites including a classified new technology verification No.7 satellite from Wenchang on 20 Dec 2020.
 

smooth manifold

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A Long March 11 rocket launched the Gravitational wave high-energy Electromagnetic Counterpart All-sky Monitor (GECAM) binaries from Xichang on 10 Dec 2020.
It is the 355 flight of Long March series.

View attachment 69861
Orbital launches from Chinese launch centers: 386
(Long March/Kuaizhou/Smart Dragon/Kaituozhe/Hyperbola/Ceres)
Jiuquan - 135
Xichang - 151
Taiyuan - 89
Wenchang - 9
Yellow Sea - 2

Coming up next:
A Long March 8 rocket will launch 9 satellites including a classified new technology verification No.7 satellite from Wenchang on 20 Dec 2020.
Almost forgot...
Mission insignia
CZ-11 GECAM 02.jpg
 

skywatcher

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China brings back A Piece of Moon on flawless mission

Chang'e 5 re-entry capsule with lunar samples landed in Inner Mongolia on 17 Dec 2020
EpYWQLTWMAILSEO.jpg

I think I don't need to comment further
 

skywatcher

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China brings back A Piece of Moon on flawless mission

Chang'e 5 re-entry capsule with lunar samples landed in Inner Mongolia on 17 Dec 2020
View attachment 70746
I think I don't need to comment further
CNSA officials announced complete success and President Xi sent a letter of congratulation to the Chang'e 5 team.
 

skywatcher

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CNSA officials announced complete success and President Xi sent a letter of congratulation to the Chang'e 5 team.
Letter of congratulation from President Xi(via Google Translate)

All comrades of the mission headquarters of the lunar exploration project and participating in the Chang'e-5 mission:

I am delighted to hear that the mission of the Lunar Exploration Project Chang'e 5 was a complete success. On behalf of the Party Central Committee, the State Council and the Central Military Commission, I would like to extend my warm congratulations and sincere greetings to you!

The Chang'e-5 mission, as my country's most complex aerospace system project with the largest technical span, has realized the return of the sampling of extraterrestrial objects in my country for the first time. This is another major achievement made by leveraging the advantages of the new nationwide system to overcome difficulties. It marks a major step forward for China's aerospace industry and will contribute to the deepening of mankind's scientific understanding of the origin of the moon and the evolution of the solar system. The motherland and people will always remember your outstanding contributions!

The pace of human exploration of space is endless. I hope you will vigorously promote the spirit of chasing dreams, exploring courageously, coordinating fortifications, cooperation and win-win lunar exploration, start a new journey of interstellar exploration one step at a time, make new contributions to building a space power, realize the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation, and contribute to the peaceful use of space for mankind. Promote the building of a community with a shared future for mankind and make greater pioneering contributions!

Xi Jinping

December 17, 2020
 

skywatcher

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China recovers Chang’e-5 moon samples after complex 23-day mission

HELSINKI — China has recovered precious lunar samples after a successful reentry and landing of the Chang’e-5 return capsule.

The roughly 300-kilogram Chang’e-5 return capsule performed a ballistic skip reentry at 12:33 p.m. Eastern Dec. 16, effectively bouncing off the atmosphere over the Arabian Sea before reentry.

The capsule containing around 2 kilograms of drilled and scooped lunar material landed in the grasslands of Siziwang Banner at 12:59 p.m. Recovery vehicles located the capsule shortly after.

The recovery ends the space segment of the 23-day Chang’e-5 mission which aimed to collect rock samples thought to be billions of years younger than so far delivered by the U.S. Apollo and Soviet Luna missions.

While the samples will be delivered to a specially constructed laboratory in Beijing for preparation, analysis and storage, Chang’e-5 opens doors for further exploration.

The verification of technologies for liftoff from the lunar surface and automated rendezvous and docking in lunar orbit open the way for planned sample-return missions to near Earth asteroids and Mars in the coming decade, as well as crewed lunar landings in the 2030s.

Chang’e-6, a backup mission, will now be repurposed for a landing at the lunar South Pole or South Pole-Aitken Basin. The mission will involve contributions from CNES of France.

The Chang’e-5 orbiter performed a burn following separation of the return capsule to avoid reentering the atmosphere. The orbiter could now be used for an extended mission, utilizing imagers on the spacecraft.

Lunar science pay dirt
Chang’e-5 landed near Mons Rümker in Oceanus Procellarum Dec.1 and collected 0.5 kilograms of samples by drilling up to two meters into the lunar regolith as well as scooping material from the surface. Crater counting from orbital observations indicates the area sampled could be young in geological terms.

Verification of the age of the samples would confirm ideas that some areas of the moon experienced late-stage volcanism, and compositional analysis could provide insights into the reasons behind it.

Katherine Joy, a Reader in Earth Sciences at the University of Manchester says the samples might represent some of the last lunar lava flows to have erupted. “If so, they not only tell us about how the Moon’s thermal history but these are also vital samples to help us calibrate the Moon’s impact history.”

Joy states that calibrating this young part of the Moon’s impact record would have “important implications for understanding the surface ages of all other bodies in the Solar System.”

Jessica Flahaut, a planetary geologist at the University of Lorraine, France, says the mission is”so great for the science community, who has been waiting to get more samples from decades—the last sample return being Luna 24 in 1976—that the Moon is getting more attention again.”

Flahaut notes that the the drilled samples, consisting of 0.5 kilograms of the material will provide further windows on en we will have a record of paleo-regolith layers in the drill core samples, and we could use those to survey the record of the solar winds and galactic events over millions of years.”

“Remote sensing data from the last decades have also shown a number of curiosities, including felsic domes, irregular mare patches, and rock types at the lunar surface, which we don’t have in the sample collection yet. It is therefore key to insist that lunar exploration is still only at its beginning, and that there is much more to do.”

New phase of lunar and planetary exploration
Chang’e-5 launched Nov. 23, entering lunar orbit 112 hours later. Sampling followed in the hours after a Dec. 1 landing, with an ascent vehicle delivering the collected material into lunar orbit.

An unprecedented automated lunar orbit rendezvous and docking with the mission service module two days later allowed the transfer of the 2 kilograms of material into the return capsule.

The mission was China’s most complex so far in terms of robotic space exploration. Initially envisioned as the third of three steps to orbit, land on and sample the moon, Chang’e-5 and the previous successful Chang’e missions give way to an expanded lunar exploration program.

The extended phase of lunar exploration involves the Chang’e-7 and 8 lunar landing missions in the coming years. The aim will be to establish an ‘international lunar research station’ in the mid-to-late 2020s as a precursor to crewed landings.

Sample return technology and experience developed through Chang’e-5 is also to be utilized for planned near Earth asteroid and Mars sample return missions later in the decade. The complexity of the Chang’e-5 mission profile is considered by observers to be related to future crewed lunar landing ambitions.

 

no smoking

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Ok, most of key technologies for mission of landing men on the moon are verified in this journey except the rocket.
Is there any news about the rocket?
 

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