Author Topic: LIVE: Chang'e-3 lunar probe and rover, CZ-3B - Xichang - December 1, 2013 (Read 484702 times)

KelvinZero · « **Reply #140 on:** 10/05/2013 11:59 pm »

Im really looking forward to this..

Will this be the first time we have actually landed (not crashed) something on the moon since 1976?
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Exploration_of_the_Moon

I said 'we' without even thinking about it. Its very exciting to me.

savuporo · « **Reply #141 on:** 10/06/2013 12:15 am »

Quote from: KelvinZero on 10/05/2013 11:59 pm

Im really looking forward to this..

Will this be the first time we have actually landed (not crashed) something on the moon since 1976?

Me too. I was born in 1978.

Blackstar · « **Reply #142 on:** 10/06/2013 03:58 pm »

Are there any good line drawings/schematics of the lander and rover?

I've seen a lot of photos, but I'm curious about overall dimensions and instrument locations and things like that.

Lar · « **Reply #143 on:** 10/06/2013 04:22 pm »

Quote from: Satori on 09/25/2013 04:56 pm

China Unveils Its First and Unnamed Moon Rover.

That thing is so cute! It could be made out of LEGO elements...

Steven Pietrobon · « **Reply #144 on:** 10/09/2013 04:58 am »

Quote from: KelvinZero on 10/05/2013 11:59 pm

Will this be the first time we have actually landed (not crashed) something on the moon since 1976?
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Exploration_of_the_Moon

Yes. The following were crashed into the Moon:

1993-04-10 Hiten
1995? Hiten-Hagoromo (decayed orbit)
1999-07-31 Lunar Prospector
2006-09-03 SMART 1
2008-11-14 Chandrayaan 1-Moon Impact Probe (MIP)
2009-02-12 SELENE-Rstar (Okina)
2009-03-01 Chang'e 1
2009-06-10 SELENE (Kaguya)
2009-10-09 LCROSS-Centaur
2009-10-09 LCROSS
2011? Chandrayaan 1 (decayed orbit)
2012-12-17 GRAIL A (Ebb)
2012-12-17 GRAIL B (Flow)

See http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_artificial_objects_on_the_Moon for more information.

Galactic Penguin SST · « **Reply #145 on:** 10/11/2013 07:16 pm »

Am I the only person who is thinking that there will be loud clasps of uproar from the other side of the Pacific from where I am if the Chinese really gets this lander and rover to the Moon surface and shows off the red Chinese flag to the world for Christmas?

Well I don't really expect more actions than that, but if that happens I'm sure it will get to the headlines of mainstream media.... "OMFG IT'S THE CHINEEEESSSE! THEY HAVE INVADED THE MOOOON!"

But I will cheer for them, not only because it's their first planetary landing, but because no-one has tried to put a robot on the Moon for 37 years - many members (including me of course) have never seen a lunar landing! It might be start of an era where there are at least one lander working on the lunar surface indefinitely, for which we can now start to discuss about BLEO outposts.

Here's to a good flight all the way till landing and good surface operations for at least their designed lives!

Phillip Clark · « **Reply #146 on:** 10/11/2013 07:28 pm »

Well, GP SST, I was around for all of the landings (although I cannot remember the impact of Luna 2), but I am as excited as you are about the Chang'e 3 landing. I remember all of the Soviet failures before Luna 9 rough-landed on the Moon, while Surveyor 1 soft-landed at the first attempt. For surveyor 1, the first photos of the lunar surface were released "live" to the world's media so thanks to the BBC being open early (no Breakfast TV in those days) for the first time we saw the caption "live from the Moon".

Just don't knock the Chinese if Chang'e 3 doesn't soft-land - it's not easy landing on another world.

plutogno · « **Reply #147 on:** 10/11/2013 07:38 pm »

Quote from: Blackstar on 10/06/2013 03:58 pm

I've seen a lot of photos, but I'm curious about overall dimensions and instrument locations and things like that.

Dimensions and schematics are difficult to find at the moment, even in the technical literature. The only thing I could find are some basic dimensions from the paper "Soft Landing Impact Simulation of Lunar Lander" (http://zgkj.cast.cn/EN/abstract/abstract10556.shtml)

PahTo · « **Reply #148 on:** 10/11/2013 07:38 pm »

Uproar on this (E) side of the Pacific? I don't expect much uproar from the E side of the Pacific, but based on the incredibly informed, well-reasoned op-ed from the Orlando Sentinel linked earlier in the thread, I expect uproar (calls for war) from portions of the W side of the N Atlantic (SE United States).
Cute rover?? Cute?? Can't you see the big ray-gun on the front of that thing? Looks pretty darn sinister and threatening to me!

Orbiter · « **Reply #149 on:** 10/11/2013 07:42 pm »

Quote from: Galactic Penguin SST on 10/11/2013 07:16 pm

Am I the only person who is thinking that there will be loud clasps of uproar from the other side of the Pacific from where I am if the Chinese really gets this lander and rover to the Moon surface and shows off the red Chinese flag to the world for Christmas? Well I don't really expect more actions than that, but if that happens I'm sure it will get to the headlines of mainstream media.... "OMFG IT'S THE CHINEEEESSSE! THEY HAVE INVADED THE MOOOON!"

But I will cheer for them, not only because it's their first planetary landing, but because no-one has tried to put a robot on the Moon for 37 years - many members (including me of course) have never seen a lunar landing! It might be start of an era where there are at least one lander working on the lunar surface indefinitely, for which we can now start to discuss about BLEO outposts.

Here's to a good flight all the way till landing and good surface operations for at least their designed lives!

I'd imagine if there's pictures of the Chinese flag on the surface of the moon it will either be brushed off by the media for more "pressing" matters or cause a significant uproar in the United States. Hoping for the latter personally. But we're getting off topic here.

Blackstar · « **Reply #150 on:** 10/11/2013 10:44 pm »

Quote from: Galactic Penguin SST on 10/11/2013 07:16 pm

Am I the only person who is thinking that there will be loud clasps of uproar from the other side of the Pacific from where I am if the Chinese really gets this lander and rover to the Moon surface and shows off the red Chinese flag to the world for Christmas? Well I don't really expect more actions than that, but if that happens I'm sure it will get to the headlines of mainstream media.... "OMFG IT'S THE CHINEEEESSSE! THEY HAVE INVADED THE MOOOON!"

No. If it even gets mentioned on the evening news in the United States I expect it to be a one-day story. Maybe two days if they get the rover rolling. Then there will be short TV segments "China has a rover on the Moon" and then immediate mention of the fact that the United States has landed four rovers on Mars, and two of them are currently active there. (In other words: "Who cares?") Then the story will be forgotten.

As much as the fanboi in me wishes that we could somehow turn Chinese space activities into more support for American space activities, it just is not going to happen. The Cold War Space Race was a unique moment in time. Now Americans don't think that way anymore.

Me, I hope the Chinese are successful. Yeah, it will boost their nationalistic pride (which I don't think is a good thing, because it will encourage them to push around their neighbors even more), but I would rather see them spend money on civilian space pursuits than military ones. So if they engage in an active civilian space program, especially robotic exploration of the planets, that is not going to hurt anybody, and if anything it will add to our understanding of our solar system. So I'd like them to succeed.

plutogno · « **Reply #151 on:** 10/12/2013 07:40 am »

A pre-print from Science China: Technological advancements and promotion roles of Chang’e-3 lunar probe mission http://tech.scichina.com:8082/sciEe/EN/abstract/abstract512308.shtml#

Blackstar · « **Reply #152 on:** 10/12/2013 06:19 pm »

I wonder what kind of technology they are using for their final landing system.

Phillip Clark · « **Reply #153 on:** 10/12/2013 06:52 pm »

I cannot recall any other unmanned lunar lander which hovered over the landing site to take images before descending to the surface. I wonder how much hover time there will be?

plutogno · « **Reply #154 on:** 10/12/2013 07:08 pm »

I am attaching a paper in Chinese (sorry, I don't have the link at hand and the site seems to be down).
I don't know if it is applicable to CE-3, but judging from it, hovering would occur at 15 km and the final descent from that altitude would take slightly more than 450 seconds (7.5 minutes)

Blackstar · « **Reply #155 on:** 10/14/2013 02:50 pm »

The link to the Chang'e-3 paper above appears to be temporarily down, so the paper is attached here.

Blackstar · « **Reply #156 on:** 10/15/2013 02:31 pm »

http://www.space.com/23202-china-moon-rover-december-launch.html

mr. mark · « **Reply #157 on:** 10/17/2013 06:34 pm »

Man O Man did I get a laugh out of this report. Quote... "Scientists have ruled out the use of parachutes on the moon". Are you kidding me?

? A 5 year old knows that parachutes cannot work in an airless vaccum. What kind of scientists are these?

eeergo · « **Reply #158 on:** 10/17/2013 07:43 pm »

Quote from: mr. mark on 10/17/2013 06:34 pm

Man O Man did I get a laugh out of this report. Quote... "Scientists have ruled out the use of parachutes on the moon". Are you kidding me?? A 5 year old knows that parachutes cannot work in an airless vaccum. What kind of scientists are these?

Rather the ineptitude of the journalists - by the tone of the English commentator, it was clear she had no idea what she was saying ("deploy an anti-thrust mechanism to reduce the speed of the engine"

??). Surprisingly, in the Portuguese version they do not cite this silly line, and in the Spanish one they just list the probes the US and USSR sent before. The other versions I could understand just repeat more or less the same (French version at least says "evidently cannot use parachutes", while the Italian one refers to the moon as a planet......)

Galactic Penguin SST · « **Reply #159 on:** 10/27/2013 05:13 am »

The CZ-3B rocket for the mission has departed the CALT plant in Beijing today - arrival at Xichang is planned on November 1; while the launch team should arrive in 2 days time.

News report: http://tv.cntv.cn/video/C10601/bc1f86a9987f458290119675ad5a505c