Special report: China launches first lunar
orbiter
BEIJING, Nov. 7 (Xinhua) --
China's first lunar orbiter Chang'e-1 will start its probing of the moon in late
November when all the instruments aboard shall be put into operation, the China
National Space Administration (CNSA) said here Wednesday.
"We expect the Chang'e-1 to send back the first lot
of data and activate all its scientific instruments in late November," Li
Guoping, the spokesman for CNSA, told a press conference.
"The ground system then shall be able to process
these data and produce the first moon picture," he said.
Chang'e-1, launched on Oct. 24 in the Xichang launch
center in southwest China's Sichuan Province, entered its final working orbit at
8:34 a.m. Wednesday, after eight orbital maneuvers on its 1,800,000 km trip to
the moon.
The orbiter shall stay on an 127-minute circular
orbit 200 km above the moon for about one year.
"For the next step, Chang'e-1 will further adjust its
orbit and start testing its instruments aboard," Li said.
The 2,350-kg orbiter is carrying eight probing
facilities, including a stereo camera and interferometer, an imager and
gamma/x-ray spectrometer, a laser altimeter, a microwave detector, a high energy
solar particle detector and a low energy ion detector.
The scientific exploration by the probe is expected
to fulfill four scientific objectives, including a three-dimensional survey of
the Moon's surface, analysis of the abundance and distribution of elements on
lunar surface, an investigation of the characteristics of lunar regolith and the
powdery soil layer on the surface, and an exploration of the circumstance
between the earth and the moon.
"The stereo camera will cover the whole moon surface
within a month, and the microwave detector twice in a month," said Li.
By mid-January, all the instruments aboard shall have
scanned the moon's entire surface for at least once, the spokesman said.
 |
|
The CCTV footage shows that China's
first lunar probe Chang'e-1 successfully completed its 1,580,000-km
flying journey to the moon after entering its final working orbit on
Wednesday's morning, Nov. 7, 2007. (Photo: CCTV.com)
Photo
Gallery>>> |
Chang'e-1 completes long journey to
moon successfully
BEIJING, Nov. 7 (Xinhua) -- China's first lunar
probe, Chang'e-1, completed its nearly two-million-km flying journey to the moon
successfully on Wednesday morning and entered its working orbit.
The probe, following instructions of the Beijing
Aerospace Control Center (BACC), started its third braking at 8:24 a.m. and
entered a 127-minute round polar circular orbit at 8:34 a.m. after completing
the braking. Full storyChang'e-1 completes 2nd braking,
closer to final orbit
BEIJING, Nov. 6 (Xinhua) -- China's first lunar probe,
Chang'e-1, completed its second braking on Tuesday's morning, which further
decelerated the satellite to get it closer to its final orbit.
Chang'e-1, following the instructions of the Beijing
Aerospace Control Center (BACC), started the second braking at 11:21 a.m. and
entered a 3.5-hour orbit with a perilune of 213 km and an apolune of 1,700 km at
around 11:35 a.m. after completing the braking. Full story
China's first lunar probe enters
moon's orbit
 |
|
The CCTV footage shows that China's
first lunar probe Chang'e-1 successfully completed its first braking at
perilune and enters the moon's orbit Monday morning, Nov. 5,
2007. (Photo: CCTV.com)
Photo Gallery>>> |
BEIJING, Nov. 5 (Xinhua) -- China's first lunar probe,
Chang'e-1, successfully completed its first braking at perilune and enters the
moon's orbit Monday morning. Full story
Chang'e-1 starts braking before
entering moon's orbit
BEIJING, Nov. 5 (Xinhua) -- China's first lunar probe,
Chang'e-1, started braking at perilune, which will help it slow down to enter
the moon's orbit. Full story
Chang'e-1 receives order to adjust
flying posture for first braking at perilune
BEIJING, Nov. 5 (Xinhua) -- The Beijing Aerospace
Control Center (BACC) transmitted data to Chang'e-1 at 9:45 a.m. on Monday,
which will make the country's first lunar probe adjust its flying posture before
braking at perilune to enter the moon's orbit. Full story
Chang'e-1 stops rotating for first braking at
perilune
BEIJING, Nov. 5 (Xinhua) -- China's first lunar
probe, Chang'e-1, stopped rotation at 9:00 a.m. on Monday and is preparing for
its first braking at perilune to enter the moon's orbit. Full story
Chang'e-1 lunar probe completes 3rd orbital
transfer
BEIJING, Oct. 29 (Xinhua) -- China's lunar
probe Chang'e-1 completed its third orbital transfer on Monday afternoon, one
more step forward in its 1,580,000-km journey to the moon. Full story
Scientists activate 1st probing equipment on Chagn'e-1 lunar
orbiter
BEIJING, Oct. 25 (Xinhua) -- Chinese scientists
have successfully activated the first probing equipment on the Chang'e-1 lunar
orbiter on Thursday evening to start exploring the space environment between
earth and moon. Full story
