Chang'e 5 sample return mission Options

[Marcin600]

And a flight in a lunar orbit - both elements connected

No stars or planets are visible!

[Sorry but I am posting these videos here just to sort out the "TV chaos"]

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 flight.mp4 ( 444.1K ) Number of downloads: 201

 

[Hungry4info]

Thank-you for posting these videos!

An update on the sample returned:

The Chang'e-5 lunar samples container has been removed from the reentry capsule and found to have a mass of 1,731 grams (just under the ~2 kg planned). Images from China Space News.

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[Marcin600]

For those who like a lot of flags in science and engineering

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[Marcin600]

Interesting details of the effects of ablation on the return capsule shell. The second photo shows that the capsule entered the atmosphere (at least in the first stage) very obliquely - traces of ablation can be seen on the left side of the capsule (it performed a ballistic skip reentry)

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[Phil Stooke]

I think it enters obliquely to provide a bit of lift for the skip entry.

Also - Chinese social media report that the drill encountered a rock at a bit less than 1 m depth and the mission team decided to stop drilling rather than try to get past it. So the drill sample was shorter than intended, explaining why the total sample mass was less than expected.

Phil

[Marcin600]

I think it enters obliquely to provide a bit of lift for the skip entry.

Phil

I was just editing my post when you wrote this, Phil
Interesting technique!

[Bill Harris]

"Sorry, Bill, but I must take issue with your assertion that Apollo samples were targeted to be the oldest rocks."


Nonetheless, targeted or not, the earlier samples are Imbrian-age, which do happen to be on the oldest age of the timescale.
The Chang'e 5 samples are Eratosthenian mare basalts, which are somewhat younger.

And the samples from the South Polar Chang'e 6 mission will exciting for other reasons.

--Bill

[kenny]

Phil Stooke: I think it enters obliquely to provide a bit of lift for the skip entry.

Like the Soyuz / Shenzhou capsule upon which is is based, this capsule appears to have a little aerofoil blade or wing sticking up at left side of Marcin600's second photo. By rolling the capsule during re-entry, this little wing can be used to steer the caspule left or right, and also up out of the atmosphere during the first re-entry pass, to make the "skip" maneuver. Having studied a few flown Soyuz capsules, that's my take on it anyway.

[kenny]

Some photos from Xinhua News Agency that show the presumed fixed fin or steering blade on the reurn capsule. It's the burnt fin sticking up from the top of the cpasule between the technicians.

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[Phil Stooke]

Thanks, Kenny. Veery interesting.

This tweet:
https://twitter.com/zengxingguo/status/1341902415294046208

contains a link to a fascinating paper on landing site selection for China's three lander missions.

Phil

[Marcin600]

...By rolling the capsule during re-entry, this little wing can be used to steer the caspule left or right, and also up out of the atmosphere during the first re-entry pass, to make the "skip" maneuver...

from the official CNSA website - http://www.cnsa.gov.cn/english/n6465652/n6...98/content.html :
„...The re-entry and landing started around 1 am when mission controllers uploaded high-accuracy navigation data to the orbiter-reentry capsule combination that was traveling around the Earth. The capsule then separated from the orbiter about 5,000 kilometers above the southern Atlantic Ocean and began to descend toward Earth. It entered the atmosphere at the second cosmic velocity, or 11.2 kilometers per second at 1:33 am, and soon bounced off the atmosphere to further slow down its ultrafast speed that could cause damage to the vehicle. Later, the craft reentered the atmosphere at a much slower speed of about 7.9 km per second, also known as the first cosmic velocity. When the module was about 10 km above the ground, it released its parachutes and smoothly landed on the snow-covered grasslands...”
„...Chang'e 5's reentry capsule touched down on its preset landing site in Siziwang banner of the Inner Mongolia autonomous region at 1:59 am...”
„...Next, the sealed samples will be transferred to specially designed laboratories for analyses, experiments and tests (...) A certain proportion of the samples will also be on public display to enhance science awareness among the public, especially young generations, sources close to the mission have said...”


PS. On this website there are some official Chang'e 5 mission videos (No. 2 is quite large - over 0.3 GB) - http://www.cnsa.gov.cn/n6758823/n6758843/index.html
and here are some official photos - http://www.cnsa.gov.cn/n6758823/n6758842/index.html

[John Moore]

When do we expect to see actual views of the samples. The data analyses can come later, but it would be nice to see a pic of the samples.

John

[John Moore]

Thanks to Andrew Jones for the update on sample views.

John

[Phil Stooke]

This LPSC abstract:

http://www.hou.usra.edu/meetings/lpsc2021/pdf/2779.pdf

describes a forthcoming presentation on Chang'e 4 and 5. It mentions that the VNIS was used before and after sampling. I hope we will get some good details for CE5.

Phil