According tohttp://www.moondaily.com/reports/China_To_Land_Probe_On_Moon_At_Latest_In_2013_999.html China plans a (unmanned) moonlanding for 2013.
The article contains an http://www.moondaily.com/images/china-moon-lunar-vehicle-art-bg.jpg taking off from the moon which indeed looks a lot like a (Soviet) Y8E derived vehicle.
If this is true, my earlier remark here that this landingsite might be selected for its option to fly a direct ascent trajectory back to earth seems to make sense, they might indeed be planning to attempt a sample-return mission with a moonlanding in the vicinity of the present crash-site.
Regards,
Geert.
As an enthusiast from China, NASA and the United States have disappointed me a lot. From the cancelled Jupiter Icy Moons Orbiter and Mars Telecommunication Orbiter, to the delayed Mars Science Laboratory and the dying Constellation Program... I have almost lost the confidence and patient.
But based on reports from various sources, I think China is serious this time. There will be a Mars Pathfinder-like small lunar rover in 2013, and a sample return mission in 2017. It is just amazing, even by NASA/JPL's standard.
And China so far has a good record to get things done on time.
Well, JIMO was replaced, and Mars seems to be as high a priority as ever, not to mention all those other missions.
The Moon is mostly appealing since the environment is so well known, after 50 years of missions. Compare the success rate percentage for missions to the Moon with Mars. Better accessibility then anything apart from LEO too. Everyone knows what to expect on the surface, at least on the near side.
Just a gentle reminder for everyone to review http://www.unmannedspaceflight.com/index.php?act=boardrules...everybody play nice!
I am pleased to see China exploring the Moon like this. I understand that, as there have been two orbiters (counting Chang-e 2), there will also be two landers with rovers and two sample return missions. Earlier reports spoke of three stages in exploration, but there would be two missions in each stage.
Phil
See this report on Spacedaily.com: http://www.spacedaily.com/reports/Four_Chinese_Lunar_Landers_Mooted_999.html
Wonderful pictures, thanks for posting them here. I am really looking forward to this mission. I hope we will be able to see daily reports on the rover's activities.
It will be interesting to see if any Google Lunar X Prize team attempts a mission before Chang-E 3 in October 2013. I suspect not, I think China will have the next lander on the Moon.
Phil
Is that rocker-bogie? Doesn't JPL have a patent on that?
Wouldn't matter unless JPL patented it in China.
edit:
Looking at these pictures, it makes Scooterlord's MER render that much more amazing. Is it real, or is it Scooterlord?
The Chinese rover wheels are reminiscent of the Lunokods of the 1970s.
Chang'E-3 landing area:
http://meetingorganizer.copernicus.org/EPSC2012/EPSC2012-151-1.pdf
Phil
The landing area shown in that abstract is plotted here as a red box on a Quickmap background:
Back to lunar missions where the Chang'e 3 lunar lander is expected to fly
to the Moon "in the second half of 2013".
http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/video/2012-07/31/c_131750533.htm
Tolis.
Hawaii partners with China on Moon landing:
http://www.civilbeat.com/articles/2012/09/14/17074-hawaii-partners-with-china-on-moon-landing/
Tolis.
Chang'e 3's RTG could permit it a 30 year lifespan.
http://www.laboratoryequipment.com/news/2012/10/china-plans-2013-mars-exploration-moon-landing
Of course, a mechanical or electronic failure is likely to end the mission long before the RTG wears out (same as on Curiosity)
Phil
in free access and creative commons: http://csb.scichina.com:8080/kxtbe/EN/abstract/abstract507354.shtml
I've put together http://www.flickr.com/photos/planetaryblog/sets/72157632426301226/. There is one particularly visually striking little animation that was shown as part of a news broadcast, showing the rover making tracks on the Moon, driving toward the Sun. I'm using it to illustrate my story on Chang'E 3 even though the quality of the screen grab is very poor. I would love to try to create a higher-resolution version of this illustration by combining some lunar landscape photo with some hand-drawn silhouette of the rover, but I don't have time to try and don't even know if my artistic ability is up to the task. So I throw the idea out there in case anyone else wants to take up that challenge!
I don't understand why space geeks are not excited about Chang'e 3. I mean, I have seen a space.com post on the 13 missions worth following in 2013 and it's not even included...
just a reminder for the history-oriented: CE-3 will attempt the first lunar soft landing in 37 years (since Luna 24 in 1976) and will deploy the first lunar rover in 40 years! (the last was Lunokhod 2 in 1973!)
I would say that partly to blame is the (relative) lack of publicly available information. I suspect
that, once it launches and touches down everyone will go bonkers about it.
By the way, the image that accompanies Emily's most recent post reminds
me of an animation of MER rover operation that was created for PR purposes
before landing back in the early 00s. I recall seeing the MER roving
towards the sun during the concluding part of that animation.
I also wonder if any part of the landing sequence for CE3 could be visible from Earth.
I suppose that the landing might be barely visible to LRO if the latter is in a favorable orbital position at the time, but suspect it would be quite underwhelming since of course Chang'e-3 won't be using a parachute.
I can't find any information on how the RTG is powered? Does China have it's own PU-238?
Nice article by Emily compiling all the information available on the Chang'E 3 mission.
http://www.planetary.org/blogs/emily-lakdawalla/2013/01091341-change-3-lunar-lander.html
Hey, and is that my illustration of the rover on the Moon I see??!!
Yes, shameless self congratulations
You're welcome science fans
Ouyang Ziyuan is reporting that the launch of Chang'e 3 may come as soon as June 2013! That's much earlier than what I have expected......
http://news.sina.com.cn/c/2013-01-10/033925998072.shtml
Just saw a Chinese news report interviewing the person in charge of rocket production for the CE-3 launch (plus others of the same series) that the launch is scheduled in early December! (http://news.cntv.cn/2013/03/08/VIDE1362742325390719.shtml)
Also I have translated another article a week before that roughly gives out the tests that have been completed and still needs to be done before launch (http://www.spacechina.com/n25/n144/n206/n214/c389766/content.html):
Completed
- Flight hardware development and acceptance
- Lander / rover final assembly and combined testing
- Electromagnetic compatibility tests
- Lander / rover separation and release testing
- Mechanical force testing
Coming up
- Thermal balance and vacuum testing
- Modal strength testing on key components (wheels and landing gears?)
- Mission simulation with the spacecraft control center at Beijing
Thanks for this. Late in the year is what had been expected for a few years, but I had been quite excited with the idea it might happen in June! Anyway it will be a very interesting mission. I hope we will get frequent updates on its activities.
Phil
Anyone have seen information (papers, abstracts, presentations etc.) about what is expected at Sinus Iridum (geology etc.) and the scientific operations on the Moon for CE-3? I had a cursory check on the planned presentations at LPSC 2013, and was disappointed to see only two (and not quite what I am trying to find):
http://www.lpi.usra.edu/meetings/lpsc2013/pdf/1556.pdf
http://www.lpi.usra.edu/meetings/lpsc2013/pdf/1083.pdf
I really wanted to see what can be expected for the first lunar in-situ exploration mission in almost 40 years......
Cosmic Penguin:
This is pretty easy, you can find available sources via http://scholar.google.cz/scholar?hl=cs&q=%22Sinus+Iridum%22&btnG=Odeslat.
Here is geologic map of Sinus Iridum area - http://pubs.usgs.gov/imap/0602/plate-1.pdf.
Heh, I was just ranting on the lack of information on the science instruments on Chang'e 3, and then I went to Google Scholar and found a bunch of them - I think members with access to these papers will find them interesting to read.
The links in italics are available to the general public.
(List will be updated as I find more related papers)
Lander
PanCam: (none found yet)
Lunar-based Ultraviolet Telescope (LUT): http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0273117711005734
Extreme Ultraviolet Imager (EUV) (for plasmasphere studies): http://plasmasphere.aeronomie.be/pdf/He_2011_JGR_2010JA016364.pdf http://www.agu.org/wps/ChineseJGeo/55/01/hf.pdf
Rover
PanCam: http://www.lpi.usra.edu/meetings/lpsc2013/pdf/1556.pdf http://www.atlantis-press.com/php/download_paper.php?id=4645
VIS/NIR Imaging Spectrometer (VNIS): http://www.lpi.usra.edu/meetings/ipm2012/pdf/1007.pdf
Alpha Particle X-Ray Spectrometer (APXS): http://www.gpxygpfx.com/qikan/epaper/zhaiyao.asp?bsid=20161
Ground Penetrating Radar (GPR): http://www.lpi.usra.edu/meetings/lpsc2012/pdf/1274.pdf http://ieeexplore.ieee.org/xpls/abs_all.jsp?arnumber=6254994 http://ieeexplore.ieee.org/xpls/abs_all.jsp?arnumber=6254992
Hope this helps.
This report (right at the end):
http://www.nasaspaceflight.com/2013/04/china-back-in-action-long-march-2d-gaofen-1/
says Chang'E 3 will launch in December.
Phil
The Chinese are now doing the final major test - thermal testing - for the lander and rover right now (since sometime in April actually). And yes it seems that early December is what the Chinese are heading for the launch.
And I got a bunch of high-res photos of the spacecraft being processed for testing! http://forum.nasaspaceflight.com/index.php?topic=26848.msg1049427#msg1049427
What's the provenance of those photos? They're watermarked "China Space News" but I don't find a website or organization called that, at least not in English. Can you link to the Chinese website that they originated from? Is it a Chinese language periodical? http://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=6&ved=0CFsQFjAF&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.amazon.com%2FChina-Space-News%2Fdp%2FB00024CVD8&ei=fbmLUbznMqOEiAKD0YDgAQ&usg=AFQjCNH8i_9eKWWOG2peRFaCbi-WaUcKAw&sig2=8MBbnERwgGorWdinbSytGQ&bvm=bv.46340616,d.cGE&cad=rja.
I think pics were first posted here http://210.82.31.84:9000/rp/fs/cp/98/36/20130508/4/content_0.htm
I've been preparing some graphics for Chang'E 3, and thinking about things a bit.
This is a map of the landing area:
In the absence of much detailed scientific information it's nice to have such well-informed speculation
Are those blue lavas the high-Ti basalts or something different?
Yes, Emily, they are high Ti.
Of course, you can't trust mere speculation!
Phil
Apparently the launch of Chang'e 3 is scheduled at ~17:00 UTC on December 1st! http://bbs.astron.ac.cn/thread-93001-1-1.html by an astronomer at the Shanghai Observatory, which will use their 65 meter radio telescope to help track CE-3 on its way to the Moon.
Excellent news. Thanks for this. I am so looking forward to having something on the surface of the Moon again.
My next wish... is to learn of the exact landing target they are aiming for.
Phil
I'm just excited that we may be about to see the first lunar landing in my lifetime.
With less than four months to go before launch, Chang'e seems to have attracted very little mainstream media attention. Nobody outside of a small circle of space enthusiasts seems to be aware that China will attempt a Moon landing before the end of this year.
Which leads to a question: if Chang'e works as planned, what would you expect the public response to be? Astonishment? Appreciation? Calls for a new Moon race? Or "meh, been there, done that"?
Doug M.
Envy?
Phil
http://www.cbc.ca/news/technology/story/2013/08/28/china-moon-space.html
Not too long now! You will note that the article mentions two landers, the second meaning Chang'E 4 in another year or two.
Phil
From some time ago I thought Chang'E 4 is only a backup if Chang'E 3 does not work and the next will be Chang'E 5. Chang'E 5 was planned as a sample return. The available material is thin.
No, as with Chang'E 1 and 2, the second is a backup but if the first is successful the second will fly as well, going to a different location and maybe with improved equipment. Somewhere I have read that Chang'E 4 may have more autonomous driving capability.
Phil
This is the program for a Chinese lunar and planetary exploration meeting, going on right now.
http://lunar.csp.escience.cn/dct/page/65580
Some interesting talks - I wish we had abstracts. Some refer specifically to the upcoming landing mission.
Phil
http://ms2013.cosmos.ru/sites/ms2013.cosmos.ru/files/4m-s3_program-09-20.pdf
This is the program for the Fourth Moscow Solar System Symposium, to be held next month. Check out this item near the bottom:
4MS3-NP-9 Jinsong Ping et al Chang’E-3/4 Lunar Landing Missions and Lunar Radio Science Experiments
We usually get abstracts after the meeting, and in the past full presentations as well (though they might be diverted into journal articles this year). I will be, as the expression is, 'gagging' for further details.
Phil
A pre-print from Science China: http://tech.scichina.com:8082/sciEe/EN/abstract/abstract512308.shtml#
As far as I can see from a quick look, there are not many new infos on the mission or spacecraft
Lunar rover naming contest phase 1 of 4 completed. The top 10 candidates are:
* Yutu (Jade Rabbit)
* Tansuo (Explorer/Exploring)
* Lanyue ("Pull the Moon into one's arm")
* Qianxuesen (aka Tsien Hsue-shen)
* Zhuimeng (Chasing Dream)
* Xunmeng (Seeking Dream)
* Zhuiyue (Chasing the Moon)
* Mengxiang (Dream)
* Shiming (Mission)
* Qianjin (Forward)
Phase 2 will choose three names from these ten. Vote at http://www.xinhuanet.com/forum/zt2013/yqctp/index.htm until October 31.
Yaohua, is this open to everyone or only PRC citizens?
I did. Thanks!
Fan work by pockn@9ifly:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JsphRNwo_io
Thanks for the link - I'm sure we all really appreciate your help finding these things. I certainly do. This is going to be an exciting mission.
Phil
I read at the LROC site that they are looking forward to the Chang'e landing so they can get good "before" images of a landing site as well as "after" images, since they have no such thing at present. They are hoping they have decent resolution imaging of the eventual landing site -- they can't be certain because the Chinese have not specified the exact planned co-ordinates.
-the other Doug
Interesting comment. 'They' at LROC don't have pre-landing images of any other site, of course, but 'we' as a planet do, since there are good Lunar Orbiter images of Apollo 11, 12 and 14 pre-landing, and Apollo images of Apollo 16 and 17 pre-landing, and Lunar Orbiter images of Surveyors 3, 6 and 7 pre-landing. (Only mediocre images of Apollo 15 pre-landing though).
Now LRO is in a higher orbit their post-landing images will be less eye-popping than earlier lander images, too.
Phil
They appear to be concerned only with LROC NAC imagery in re capturing "before" images. The exact quote from the LROC site is:
"If we are lucky, the LROC team might have a before picture to compare to any after pictures of the Chang'e 3 landing site (the exact planned landing coordinates have not yet been released). Currently all LROC NAC investigations must rely solely on 'after' images of landing sites. Obtaining a before and after set of images of the Chang'e 3 will facilitate a much better understanding of the delicate processes involved in regolith redistribution due to lander rocket plumes."
-the other Doug
Does anyone have any insights into the rover deployment sequence?
Early drawings showed it mounted on the side of the lander (LRV-style) and pivoting onto the trackway about 75 cm from the surface, with a shallow incline.
A presentation last year by CLEP chief scientist Ouyang Ziyuan seemed to show a fork-lift truck type lift assembly to deliver the rover from atop the lander to the surface.
A report last weekend on CNTV showed the rover "walking the plank" Wile E. Coyote-style, with the trackway suspended 2 meters above the surface and ending in mid-air.
Clearly, not all depictions are to be trusted!
However, the final configuration seems to have the rover mounted atop a circa. 2-meter-tall main bus, with a vertiginous trackway descending in only one direction.
Does this not break at least two cardinal rules of rover delivery? 1) Keep your centre of mass low. 2) Give yourself an alternative exit route in case a boulder blocks one pathway.
I can't really answer your question with certainty, but my impression from reviewing many images is that the pictures you refer to are showing different parts of the process. The 'walk the plank' image shows the rover moving onto the 'fork lift' supports. Then it is lowered part way to the surface, from which it rolls off on ramps. Some pictures out there probably show earlier thoughts about deployment.
Only one way off? But large rocks are rare except in fresh crater ejecta, and with hazard avoidance during descent those bad areas can be avoided. The dangers of rover deployment may have been exaggerated in the past.
Phil
What are the chances they would merely select a site that's already received LROC coverage? It would be both scientifically interesting and surveyed for landing safety: two birds with one stone...
Remember they have their own c. 1.5 m/pixel images as well.
As for selecting an area already imaged by LROC, a look at Quickmap suggests most of the likely area is already imaged so it shouldn't be too difficult, but only part of that is imaged at the 0.5 m resolution of the earlier orbits. Now they are in a higher orbit they are getting only ('only'!) 2 m/pixel. Depending on the aiming accuracy, they may not be able to guarantee they will get into a high resolution strip. For reasons of national pride they may be more interested in getting into their own high resolution coverage.
Phil
I would ordinarily say it looks way too complicated with all those moving parts, but in the wake of the skycrane I don't think we can complain.
I draped the annotated map from today's Youtube video over Google Moon (1) and had an interesting, if highly speculative, result when I zoomed in to the right-hand character on the CCTV map and compared it with the CCTV close-up scene(2).
1:
Hi - check this out:
http://www.planetary.org/blogs/emily-lakdawalla/2010/2773.html
To see where that image really is.
We can't assume that the image is the landing site - that was the first high resolution image strip from the Chang'E 2 low orbit, so the most widely seen.
Phil
this site and the planetary blog cited in this paper
http://www.aerospaceamerica.org/Documents/AerospaceAmerica-PDFs-2013/November-2013/Feature_ChinasBoldLunarPlan_AANov2013.pdf
If you go here:
http://ms2013.cosmos.ru/
you can download the abstracts for the recent 4th Moscow Solar System Symposium - a 25MB PDF. Look down to page 133 for a description of Chang'E 3 and 4 missions, with some new information.
Lots of other goodies in there too.
Phil
There's a CNSA press conference early tomorrow (1 am GMT) - expect the Chang'e 3 mission timeline and other details to come out by then.
Thanks!
Phil
Not much has been said I'm afraid - in particular the mission plan from launch date to landing is completely missing.
As for the rest, Emily has it covered on Twitter.
They did say the name "Yutu" or "Jade Rabbit" has been chosen for the rover.
Jade Rabbit? Really?
For those who know the Chinese myth of Chang'e, this makes perfect sense. It also means that we ought to be able to identify the intended landing site.
Since Change's companion, a large rabbit, was always seen sitting in the shade of a large cinnamon tree, all Phil has to do is find said large cinnamon tree in Sinus Iridum, and we have our landing site...
-the other Doug
"...all Phil has to do is find said large cinnamon tree in Sinus Iridum"
I'm on it!
Phil
I wish I could add some solid information about upcoming events, but in its absence here's an historical oddity.
Buzz Aldrin, Chang'e and the Jade Rabbit on the day he landed on the Moon:
http://forum.nasaspaceflight.com/index.php?topic=26848.msg1124566#msg1124566 has been able to found out the critical time points of the mission from staff working in the MCC!
Launch window: December 1 @ ~17:00 - 17:30 GMT
LOI: December 6 @ ~02:30 GMT
Landing: December 16 (should be around noon GMT as the Moon rises over China - http://bbs.9ifly.cn/forum.php?mod=redirect&goto=findpost&ptid=11199&pid=264107 gives the center of the landing window at 12:36 GMT)
This is good... now I am hoping to see an exact landing site announced.
Phil
http://www.esa.int/Our_Activities/Operations/Helping_China_to_the_Moon, launch is planned at 18:00 GMT (December 1).
ESA's tracking stations will be helping with tracking during flight and landing.
Leonard David at space dot com is reporting launch time of today (Sunday) 12:30 p.m. EST, or 17:30 GMT (i.e. current British winter time), although it will be
1:30 a.m. Monday, Dec. 2 at China's Xichang Satellite Launch Center.
CCTV News live coverage started:
http://english.cntv.cn/live/p2p/index.shtml
CCTV confirms launch 1:30 am Monday China time, which implies ESA got it wrong, and we should use Leonard David's times (above) for this afternoon.
[quote name='ollopa' date='Nov 26 2013, 12:04 PM' post='204734']
I wish I could add some solid information about upcoming events, but in its absence here's an historical oddity.
Buzz Aldrin, Chang'e and the Jade Rabbit on the day he landed on the Moon:
A tad OT, but in reference to the above.
In the early 80's, a member of my local (Australia) Astro club, purchased and shared the video...
'The Greatest Film Ever Made'
which detailed the flight of Apollo 11.
Can't find it on the usual sites.
Any ideas?
Picture perfect launch, bang on time.
Onboard cameras showing payload, second stage, and 1st stage, great coverage.
Incredible pictures! Go Chang'e 3!!
Still looking good. MAVEN, then MOM, now Chang'e 3... quite an exciting few weeks! Here's to a successful landing!
second stage separation, camera strapped to third stage showing plasma thrust,530 seconds into launch, brilliant pictures.
Coasting.
3rd stage shut down on time, now enters orbital coast period for a minute or so, then due to re-ignite for trans-lunar phase..
Re-ignition
We still have a camera view this long after, wow!
Edit: horizon, seperation!
Separation of Lunar probe. Well done!
Probe engines now burning, Change 3 on its way.
Small collage of the Change-3 after separation from the last stage.
The Pacific!
Even spinning the final stage to look back at Earth; they sure know how to put on a show! Look at that curvature!
They are saying it is now in an Earth-Moon transfer orbit with an apogee of 360,000 km, so Chang'e 3 is successfully en route to the Moon. Congratulations!
Wonderful colour video of the probe separating, manoeuvring with attitude control jets, sunrise over the Pacific, etc.
The best coverage I've seen a a launch. Well done!
I segond that!
[Damn, I missed all! Could someone give me a replay link? Thanks!
Look here:
http://english.cntv.cn/program/asiatoday/20131202/100389.shtml
Thorsten
Thanks Denk! Separation is really spectacular, even though I suspect that, initially, the glare is due to a solar reflection and not to the probe thrusters!
There is also a shorter video with many dramatic views of liftoff:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ctTBRWMh3yw
They have reported that the landing legs, which were tucked under the spacecraft for launch, have been deployed. The four gold colored footpads can be seen
in the section of the movie showing the separation of the spacecraft from the final stage of the launcher. Also, the solar panels are open. Chinese TV have stated
it will land "in 2 weeks".
The last time we saw a new location on the lunar surface from ground level was Jan 1973, with Luna 21 and the Lunokhod 2 rover. So here's hoping!
Happy to stand corrected on the flaring....
Latest announcement says Chang'e 3 performed its first course correction manoeuvre about 7 hours ago (3:50pm Beijing time),
when it was 138,000 km from Earth. It is well on its way, and seems to be functioning properly.
http://www.spaceflight101.com/change-3.html describes Chang-e 3's mission and instruments. See under "Lander cameras" for a description of the cameras installed on the lander. Here is the pertinent information:
-------------
"In addition to its three Pancams, the lander is equipped with a single Descent Camera that was tested on the Chang’e 2 spacecraft. The Micro-CMOS camera provides images of 1,280 by 1,024 pixels during the descent to the lunar surface. Details such as exposure times and frame rate have not been given.
The nadir-facing camera is expected to be active when the lander is hovering 100 meters above the surface of the Moon, taking images of the landing site to help rover mission planners to select drive routes later in the mission. The camera is likely taking images all the way down to the surface as the lander makes its constant low velocity descent to an altitude of 4 meters for engine shutdown.
Previous Chang’e missions also included a range of engineering cameras to obtain images and video of important activities of the spacecraft such as solar array deployment and main engine burns. Whether Chang’e 3 also includes such cameras is unknown."
------------
Looks like there is a "MARDI-like" camera on the lander.
I just hope China makes the photos public.
Some news are coming in:
Chang'e 3 has completed its lunar orbit insertion, and will stay in lunar orbit for the next 9 days prior to descent and landing.
It is in its planned polar orbit at an altitude of 100 kilometers.
Landing attempt due on December 14.
http://www.spaceflight101.com/change-3-mission-updates.html
Another big milestone in a very smooth mission so far....
ESA Operations' twitter reports:
@esaoperations: #China's #ChangE3 entered lunar orbit ~10:53 CET acc to @XHNews state news agency. Congrats also from ESA OPS!
BEIJING, Dec. 6 (Xinhua) -- China's Chang'e-3 probe entered the circular lunar orbit at 5:53 p.m. Friday Beijing Time, after about 112 hours of flying along Earth-Moon transfer orbit, the Beijing Aeropspace Control Center (BACC) said.
I just found this SPECIAL PAGE for Chang'e lunar mission on CCTV.com.
Here is direct link: http://english.cntv.cn/special/lunarmission/index.shtml
There are some really fine details about this mission in following three animations:
http://english.cntv.cn/program/newsupdate/20131202/102122.shtml
http://english.cntv.cn/program/newsupdate/20131202/100123.shtml
http://english.cntv.cn/program/newsupdate/20131202/100102.shtml
I have just found some good introduction materials for all the 8 science instruments on the lander and rover (4 on each)! (http://bbs.9ifly.cn/thread-11199-47-1.html) Here are the details of each of them (translated by myself - please point out if I have mis-translated something as I am not well-versed with geology and chemistry instruments):
Lander instruments
MastCam
Objectives: Acquisition of landing area optical photographs for surveying the terrain and geological features of the landing zone.
Position: On top of the mast of the lander
Features:
* Acquisition of landing zone photographs
* Monitor the movement of rover on the lunar surface
* With multi-color imaging ability
* Can shoot both photographs and videos
* Can tweak focusing automatically
* With ability to minimize scattered lights and image compression
Major sub-systems: Optical system, Mechanical system
Operator: Institute of Optics and Electronics (IOE), Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS)
Descent Camera
Objectives: Acquisition of landing area optical photographs for surveying the terrain and geological features of the landing zone at altitudes between 2-4 km.
Position: At the bottom of the lander
Features:
* Highly miniaturized design; light weight, small volume, low energy consumption, high performance
* Can withstand high levels of radiation, temperature difference and violent vibrations at launch
* CMOS sensor used
* High-speed static grey-scale image compression used
* Has automatic focusing
Major sub-systems: Optical system, Imagery receiving and processing electric box
Operator: Beijing Institute of Space Machinery and Electricity (BISME), China Academy of Space Technology (CAST)
Lunar-based Ultraviolet Telescope (LUT)
Objectives: Making use of the absence of atmosphere and slow rotation of the Moon to observe selected variable celestial objects and sky areas in the near ultraviolet region.
Position: -Y side of the lander
Features:
* First ever astronomical observation made from surface of other planetary objects for prolonged periods
* Highly automated; can aim and point to various targets with the telescope mount automatically
* Light weight achieved via using composite materials and structure optimization
* Highly adaptable to the lunar surface environment; can operate between -20 and 40 degrees Celsius
Major sub-systems: Telescope body and frame (left); reflector lens and telescope mount (right), electric cable mount and control systems
Operator: National Astronomy Observatory of China (NAOC), CAS
Extreme Ultraviolet Imager (EUV)
Objectives: Imagery of the Earth's ionosphere in the extreme ultraviolet region; investigations into space weather forecasting and ionosphere studies
Position: Top side of the lander
Features:
* Can track Earth automatically; will perform long term imagery monitoring of scattered extreme ultraviolet radiation from the Earth's ionosphere
* Operational wavelength is 30.4 nm (about 1/20 of visible light)
* FOV 15 degrees (region covers about 7.5 Earths)
* Can operate between -25 and 75 degrees Celsius; has ability to survive and operate in the highly variable thermal environment of the lunar surface
* First extreme ultraviolet camera operating from the lunar surface
Major sub-systems: Extreme ultraviolet multi-membrane optical imagery system; Extreme ultraviolet photon counter sensor; Signal processing unit; Pointing control system; Main control unit
Operator: Changchun Institute of Optics, Fine Mechanics and Physics (CIOMP), CAS
Rover instruments
PanCam
Objectives: Acquire 3-D imagery of the lunar surface for surveying the terrain, geological features and structures, and craters inside the target region. Also monitors the operational state of the lander.
Position: Top of the mast of the rover
Features:
* Uses simplified optical system and highly miniaturized design, making the cameras light-weight, small volume, low energy consuming and highly reliable
* Can operate between -25 and 55 degrees Celsius and able to survive between -40 and 75 degrees Celsius
* Focusing operational between 3m and infinity
* Have both automatic and manual focusing; can automatically adjust the field brightness
Major sub-systems: Twin PanCams (A & , each with one optical system, mechanical system, electronics and thermal control parts
Operator: Xian Institute of Optics and Precision Mechanics (OPT), CAS
Ground Penetration Radar (GPM)
Objectives: Measure lunar soil depth and structural distribution of soil, magma, lava tubes and sub-surface rock layers
Position: Inside the rover
Features:
* Channel I operates at 60MHz - for probing sub-surface geological features down to meter-level resolution; maximum depth >100 m
* Channel II operates at 500MHz - for probing lunar soil depth with resolution better than 30 cm; maximum depth >30 m
* The antennas can survive temperatures of -200 to 120 degrees Celsius
* Miniaturized design, low energy consumption, high performance (the pictures on the left side are the results of testing the two radar channels at the Laohugou #12 glacier in Gansu province)
Major sub-systems: Radar controller, channel I/II antennas and transmitter, electric cables etc. (right side from top to bottom: channel I transmitter, channel II transmitter, channel II antenna, channel I antenna)
Operator: Institute of Electronics, CAS
VIS/NIR Imaging Spectrometer (VNIS)
Objectives: Measure the composition and resources of the lunar surface via imaging and spectrometry in the visible and near-infrared wavelengths
Position: Beneath the rover's top deck
Features:
* Utilizes RF-driven tunable light & ultrasound spectrometry
* Utilizes new design ultrasound generators
* Have anti-dust accumulation and in-orbit calibration functions
* Miniaturized design, light weight, high performance (photos on the right are the sample spectra and photos of Labradorite simulated moon soil, quartz crystals and LLB simulated moon soil)
Major sub-systems: Tunable light & ultrasound spectrometer optical system, ultrasound-driven target guiding, dust repelling and thermal control components, composite outer case, main control system and data processing module
Operator: Shanghai Institute of Technical Physics (SITP), CAS
Alpha Particle X-Ray Spectrometer (APXS)
Objectives: Measure the composition and distribution of various elements on the lunar surface via observing the scattered X-rays from the bombardment of alpha particles of rocks
Position: On the rover's robotic arm
Features:
* Includes active particle scattering, in-situ determination of lunar surface element, in-orbit calibration and distance measurement functions
* The sensor can re-calibrate itself through the use of standard calibration targets
* Rover's lunar night survival contains a radioisotope heater unit (RHU) for keeping the sensor warm
* Low energy consumption, light weight, high resolution and high sensitivity semi-conductor sensor used
Major sub-systems: (from left to right) sensor, RHU, calibration target
Operator: Institute of High Energy Physics (IHEP), CAS
Thanks a lot, Cosmic Penguin. It's great to have your linguistic ability at our service.
The Rover Pancam temperature ranges are not encouraging, unless the camera is augmented by heaters, because the normal
lunar temperature range is much wider than this.
"...Can operate between -25 and 55 degrees Celsius and able to survive between -40 and 75 degrees Celsius."
I see it in the original, too. That can't be right. Surely such an elementary error would be noticed. Perhaps, as you say, heaters will be used to protect the instruments.
What about the very low frequency radio astronomy experiment? It is still mentioned in the http://ms2013.cosmos.ru/4m-s3_abstract_book.pdf.
Thanks for all this terrific information, Cosmic Penguin. This will be VERY helpful!
Not certain about this yet, but I have formed the impression that the rover camera mast folds down into the body at night and is covered by the solar panels, so it is protected in the warmer box.
Phil
A question arise, will the rover survive to the night temperature after first 14 days mission?
Added: I found this answer in http://www.spaceflight101.com/change-3.html article
The two hour time difference is one orbit - they are landing one orbit earlier. That might reflect actual vs predicted orbit plane orientation, or the selection of a different landing ellipse. We still don't know much about specific landing sites and there could have been several candidates in the whole landing region. One would be chosen as the nominal target with a final decision pending arrival in lunar orbit.
Phil
The best annotated diagram of the lander and rover I have seen so far...
(http://bbs.9ifly.cn/forum.php?mod=redirect&goto=findpost&ptid=11199&pid=278419)
ADMIN EDIT: Please do not post links to large in-line images. Save to your computer and upload as attachments (below).
Thanks Cosmic Penguin for posting a blog's link which has good discussions and details about Change-e'3. It is written in Chinese and I advise you use last version of Google Web Chrome which allows you to translate whole page from Chinese to English automatically.
Those look great dilo!
t-12 hours until the Moon gets a new visitor, after such a long time...
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