Chang'e 3: Lunar Day 3 and onwards, Ongoing discussion of the Rover/Lander mission Options

[Phil Stooke]

This is the new image of tracks showing my interpretation, and an alternative.

The image is a composite of two, the upper left and lower right panels of the 4-panel image put on the LROC site. The pre-landing image is used to partially subtract topography - only partially as the lighting is different. I want to emphasize tracks.

In the right half I overlay red lines: the tracks as I mapped them in the map thread, and blue lines: another possible interpretation.

Phil

[William Pei]

Are you sure? I saw 2016 mentioned elsewhere on the Chinese side.......

As a backup spaceship, Chang'E 2 was launched at next year of Chang'E 1, so Chang'E 4 will most possibly to launch at 2014, but this is depend on the progress of Longmarch-5 rocket and Wenchang space center, if Chang'E 4 decide launch at there, may be delay to 2015, but no more late than that time, because Chang'E 5 will launch at 2017 by an officilal statement.

[Thorsten Denk]

Next Sunrise in 4 hours.
Will there be again a sign of life from Yùtù?
(In two days or so of course!)

Thorsten

[Yeh]

News this morning: http://news.sina.com.cn/c/2014-03-11/033929674756.shtml (in Chinese)

Ye Peijian mentioned that a "test probe" for Chang'E 5 will be launched late this year. The probe "will not land on the Moon or take samples", "simply travel to the Moon and come back". But he did not indicate this will be Chang'E 4 or just as a separate test mission.

[Explorer1]

Sounds like a free return trajectory. Or perhaps braking into orbit and then escaping again for the challenge?

[Phil Stooke]

This is a quite separate mission, not Chang'E 4, and just intended to test the heat shield etc. for return to Earth.

Phil

[Paolo]

Sounds like a free return trajectory.

apparently it will be a Chang'e-1 bus mated to the Chang'e 5 sample return capsule injected in a free return, lunar flyby orbit. I wonder if they will envisage a secondary mission for the bus, which will remain in a high energy, C3~=0 Earth orbit unless it reenters the atmosphere together with the capsule.

[Phil Stooke]

According to this website:

http://news.163.com/14/0312/19/9N5KNCJ300014JB6.html

It seems Yutu has woken up again, thereby officially exceeding its design lifetime - if this Google translation (and my interpretation of it) is reliable:

"China news agency, Beijing, March 12 - "'Rabbit' is now in good shape, you can also expect extended service a long time." CPPCC National Committee, China Aerospace Science and Industry Group's third dean Weiyi Yin accepted in Beijing on the 12th News Agency reporter that interview.

Rabbit numbers is China's first lunar rover vehicles, the design life is three months. December 15, 2013, Chang E III lander and rover isolated rabbit numbers, "rabbit" successfully arrived on the lunar surface. 23:45 that night, the completion rabbit numbers rotate camera around Chang E on the 3rd and returns photos. Early morning of January 25 this year, Chang E III lunar rover before entering the second moonlit night sleep, the rover body control abnormal, February 10, the first rabbit No. wake fails, the night of February 12, lunar rabbit the car has been fully awake state is getting better, but the "agency" problems still need to be further recovery.

Weiyi Yin told reporters that despite the "rabbit" design life is approaching, but it is now in good shape, had been sick but wake up, long life than expected design life of many. "

[Yeh]

Phil - to me it seems Mr. Yin is just repeating what happened in Feb. It is a common practice for the delegrates to say something positive at the CPPCC, so no, I don't think he is saying Yutu's waking up.

[mcaplinger]

https://twitter.com/uhf_satcom is the most reliable source at the moment IMHO, and nothing has been seen.

[Phil Stooke]

OK, my apologies, it sounded good to me.

Phil

[A.Nemo]

Yutu alive and send signals

[Thorsten Denk]

Great!

[Liss]

Don't know if this is correct -- just reasoning.

As of Ye Peijian, the source of the partial failure of Yutu was an electrical fault in a control circuit in its driving unit which prevented folding mast, closing upper deck with the right solar panel and making correct attitude of the left solar panel.

This explanation contradicts official statements from January 25 which stated all pre-sleep actions had been conducted correctly.
And this explanation does not explain absense of any movement since January 22.
I also doubt a certain circuit is in charge for both articulating panels and powering wheel and direction control motors.

Could it be another way?

We know Yutu is very sensitive to night time attitude that should be of southern bearing and almost level roll (+1°...-2° or so) to have optimal thermal state in the morning at the moment of awaking.
If the problem appeared in the rover drive system which prevented taking this correct attitude on January 25 this naturally explains almost everything:
* absense of movement since then;
* fears of extreme cold in the night;
* late wake-up and early sleep in Lunar Day 3 vs. Day 2;
* and even the visible non-horizontality of both horizon and Chang'e 3 upper deck in the Lunar Day 3 stereo pair.

What do you think?

[Phil Stooke]

Don't think of a single circuit, think of a single circuit board... maybe?

Anyhoo... just saw an LPSC poster with a full route map on it plus topo map and reprojected photomap... more news later.

Phil