Beijing close to landing robot craft on dark side of the Moon
China
A Chinese spacecraft is attempting to make the first landing on the far side of the Moon today in a milestone for space exploration.
The China National Space Administration (CNSA) is preparing to land the robotic spacecraft in the South Poleaitken basin, the largest, oldest and deepest crater on the Moon.
The probe, the Chang’e-4, entered a planned orbit on Monday ‘‘to prepare for the firstever soft landing on the far side of the moon’’, Xinhua news agency said, citing the CNSA.
The CNSA has not given the exact time of the attempt to touch down on the unexplored lunar surface, but reports in China’s state-run media suggest Chang’e4 could begin descending early this morning.
Targeting the far side, or ‘‘dark side’’, of the Moon is riskier and more complex than previous ventures, including Chang’e-3’s mission to the Moon in 2013, since direct communication with the spacecraft is not possible and the terrain is rugged.
The Moon is tidally locked to Earth, rotating at the same rate that it orbits our planet, so the far side is never visible from Earth. Previous spacecraft have photographed the far ‘dark side’ of the Moon, but none has ever landed on it.
The Chang’e-4 is attempting to land in the Von Karman crater, a flatter region located within the South Pole-aitken Basin, which is more than 2500km in diameter, and thought to have been formed by a giant collision early in the history of the 4.5 billion-year-old Moon. The spacecraft, which includes a lander and rover, is carrying a set of instruments aiming to take detailed measurements of the crater’s terrain and mineral composition as well as conducting a biological experiment.
If successful, Chang’e-4 will pave the way for China to deliver samples of lunar rock and dust to Earth later this year.
The venture is an important step in China’s ambitions to overtake the US and Russia as a world leader in space exploration, which include plans to put a person on the Moon and sending a mission to Mars by 2025.