BEIJING, Dec. 1 (Xinhuanet) -- A total of eight highly sophisticated scientific equipment will travel to the moon with the Chang’e 3 lander and rover. As soon as they touchdown, they will start sending back a great deal of first hand data to Chinese scientists for further analysis. So where will all this processing take place and how?
Wang Fang has been working at the Center of Ground Research and Application System since the Chang’e 1 mission back in 2007. She was also a part of the Chang’e 2 mission and witnessed the mapping out of a high resolution atlas of the moon. To date, it remains the clearest map of the moon in the world.
One of the four data collecting equipment on board the lander is an optical telescope. It will allow for the first time, the observation of space from the moon; an advantage astronomers have always wanted. But first, the lander has to make a soft landing on the surface, in an area called the "Bay of Rainbows". Mission headquarters has this simulation of the lander touching down in the landing area. The "Bay of Rainbows" has already been extensively photographed by previous Chang’e missions.
As the rover Yutu transmits back data, scientists on the ground have to process the information immediately.
The previous two Chang’e missions lasted longer than their life expectancy. So the hope is that the same might happen with Chang’e 3. Which means of course, that lunar exploration may go further than expected.
(Source: CNTV.cn)
Special Report: China launches lunar probe Chang'e-3
|
