Category Archives: China

Friday / 9 Aug 2019

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Chang’e-4 And Yutu-2 Rover Complete Eighth Lunar Day

Zhongguo Chang’e-4 Completes Eighth Day On Lunar Farside; Yutu-2 Rover Completes 271 Meters Travel, 33.13 Meters During Lunar Day 8, Expected To Wake For Day 9 Activities On 24 Aug; Rover Will Continue West From Von Karman Carter Landing Site In South Pole-Aitken Basin At 45.5° South Latitude; Netherlands-China Low Frequency Explorer Aboard Queqiao Orbiter Will Soon Begin Radio Astronomy Observations In Frequency Range From 1 To 80 MHz

Credits: CNSA, NCLE, Phil Stooke

Weekend Edition
Fri-Mon / 26-29 July 2019

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Chandrayaan-2 and Rising India-Zhongguo Space Age Cooperation

India Chandrayaan-2 Successfully En Route To Moon; Third Earth Orbit Raising Maneuver Expected 29 July; Trans Lunar Insertion Is Planned For 14 Aug And Lunar Orbit Insertion 20 Aug; 1,470-kg Vikram Lander And 27-kg Pragyan Rover Scheduled To Land 7 Sep Near Manzinus C And Simpellius N Craters At 70° S Latitude In South Polar Region; Payloads Include 22-g Retroreflector; Wu Weiren Of Chang’e-4 Mission And Hua Chunying Of Zhongguo Foreign Ministry Call For Cooperation With India In Lunar Exploration

Credits: ISRO, NASA

Tuesday / 9 July 2019

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Zhongguo / China Chang’e-5 To Test Artificial Intelligence And Technologies For Lunar Base 

Chang’e-5 Planned For Launch By End Of 2019, Will Be Aided By Artificial Intelligence In The Complicated Rendezvous And Docking Required For Lunar Sample Return; First Chief Scientist Ouyang Ziyuan Claims Technological Breakthroughs In 12 Phases Of Mission; Payload Of 8.2 Tons Planned For Launch By Long March 5 From Wenchang Space Launch Center On Hainan Island, To Include Shovel-Type Sampler And Drilling Sampler; Chang’e-5 Will Test Technologies For Lunar Base

Credits: CNSA, CAS, NAOC

Tuesday / 21 May 2019

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PRC Space Experts Note USA Artemis News 

Zhongguo China National Space Agency Experts Respond To USA Artemis Program; Chang’e-6 And Chang’e-7 Planned To Land At South Pole; Senior Scientist Ye Peijian (R) Says “Children Will Blame Us” If We Can Go To The Moon But Fail To Act; Pang Zhihao States That Lunar Base Can Be Used For Science Including Astronomy; Wu Weiren (L) Chief Architect Of Lunar Exploration Project, States That Chinese Footprints Will Be On Moon In About 10 Years

Credits: Xinhua News, CNSA

Friday / 17 May 2019

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Luna Firma Update From Chang’e-4, Beresheet, Future Chandrayaan-2

Zhongguo Chang’e-4 Is In Sleep Mode For Fifth Lunar Night; Yutu-2 Rover May Confirm First Signs Of Moon’s Hidden Mantle In South Pole-Aitken Basin; NASA Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter Finds Beresheet Crash Site, Will Search For Signs Of Laser Retroreflector; SpaceIL To Build Beresheet-2 With Private Funding And Technical Help From NASA; India Chandrayaan-2 Scheduled For Launch To South Polar Region NET 9 Jul, Will Carry Another NASA-Built Retroreflector For Measuring Earth-Moon Distance

Credits: NASA, ISRO, CNSA

Thursday / 25 Apr 2019

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Space Day China Looks Forward To Lunar South Pole Within 10 Years

National Day Of Space Flight Meetings Are In Changsha 24 April, 49th Observation Of Dongfanghong-1, First Zhongguo Artificial Satellite; Theme Is “Pursue Space Dream For Win-Win Cooperation” With International Partners Contributing Science Experiments To Chang’e-4 And Queqiao Orbiter; Chang’e-4 Returns More Images Of Lunar Far Side While Chang’e-5 Is Planned For Late 2019; China National Space Administration Head Zhang Kejian (R), One Of Time Magazine’s 100 Influential People, Announces Plans To Build Research Station On Lunar South Pole Within 10 Years

Credits: CNSA, Space Day, Xinhua News, Chinese Academy of Sciences

Friday / 19 Apr 2019

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Chang’e-4 Scientific Data Release Benefits International Partners

China National Space Administration Holds Ceremony 18 April To Pass Chang’e-4 Scientific Data To International Partners; Dutch Scientists Will Receive Data From Netherlands-China Low-Frequency Explorer (NCLE) Astronomy Experiment On Queqiao Orbiter; Lander Neutrons And Dosimetry (LND) Experiment Is Built By Germany To Understand Radiation Effects On Regolith; Yutu-2 Rover Carries Small Analyzer For Neutrals (ASAN) Contributed By Sweden To Study Solar Wind; Liu Jizhong (L) Head Of Lunar Exploration And Science Center Announces That China Will Be Seeking 20 Kg Of International Scientific Payloads For Chang’e-6 South Pole Lander And Orbiter

Credits: CNSA, China News

Tuesday / 16 Apr 2019

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ILOA-NAOC Sign MoU For Chang’e-3 LUT Data Processing To Advance Astronomy From The Moon 

In Beijing, National Astronomical Observatories, Chinese Academy Of Sciences, Sign Memorandum Of Understanding With International Lunar Observatory Association (ILOA) For Co-Sponsorship Of 2-Year Research Fellow To Process & Publish Lunar Ultraviolet Telescope Data; 150-mm Aperture LUT Operational On Chang’e-3 At Mare Imbrium Can Image Galaxies, Quasars And Stars In Near-Ultraviolet 245-340 Nanometer Band; Accepting Post-Doctoral Fellowship Applications Beginning This Week; Latest Lunar Astronomy Instrument ‘Netherlands-China Low-Frequency Explorer (NCLE)’ Aboard Chang’e-4 Queqiao Orbiter At L2 Is Active

Credits: ILOA, NAOC-CAS, CNSA

Friday / 22 Feb 2019

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2019 Could See 4 International Moon Landers, Most Attempts Since 1970s

SpaceIL Beresheet “Genesis” May Become First Privately-Funded Lander To Reach Moon Surface ~11 Apr Depending On Falcon 9 Launch Set 21 Feb 20:45 ET; India Chandrayaan-2 Orbiter, Lander, Rover Launch On GSLV Mk 2 Scheduled Last Week Of March For 14-Day Journey To Manzinus / Simpelius Craters; Chang’e-4 Lander / Rover Operating On Far Side Since 3 Jan, And China Could Send Chang’e-5 Sample Return By End Of 2019 If Long March 5 Launch ~July Succeeds

Credits: SpaceIL, ISRO, CNSA, CLEP, NAOC, CAS, CCTV

Weekend Edition
Fri-Mon / 15-18 Feb 2019

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USA And Partners Hope For 2019 Lunar Landing, Will Announce New Payloads And Commercial Contracts

Next Week NASA Will Announce 12 Science Payloads, Already Developed, For Commercial Lunar Service Providers; Commercial Partners Have 25 Mar Due Date To Submit Proposals For Transfer, Descent, And Ascent Vehicles Of Human Lunar Landing System With Selection In May; Award Of Up To US $9M In Contracts Expected By July Observation Of Apollo 11; Thomas Zurbuchen Of Science Directorate Hopes For USA Lunar Landing In 2019, Potentially Joining China Spacecraft Active On Surface 

Credits: NASA