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#40
by
savuporo
on 01 Dec, 2013 19:20
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Love the back to back headlines at NasaWatch : India Is On Its Way To Mars, China Is Heading Back to the Moon
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#41
by
Blackstar
on 01 Dec, 2013 22:14
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What I want to know is how SpaceX fits into all of this.
You could probably take a Dragon with extended fairing with some Draco Super Heavy thrusters and let Elon plot a Mars TLI trajectory to reusable Grasshopper Heavy Mark II 1.1 and get to the moon 5x cheaper and 3x faster than ..
Oh sod it. : )
Sometimes trolling is sooooo easy...
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#42
by
savuporo
on 01 Dec, 2013 22:39
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Sometimes trolling is sooooo easy...
C'mon, there isnt a space subject anywhere that couldnt use a little bit of Draco thruster love here or there.
Oh, and they called it a Dragon. Geddit ? Geddit ?? !
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#43
by
NovaSilisko
on 02 Dec, 2013 01:43
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*see this blog post: http://www.planetary.org/blogs/emily-lakdawalla/2010/2774.html
@ALL: DO READ THAT BLOG POST! AND WATCH THE VIDEOS! Holy wow.
That is brilliant. I've half a mind to post this blogpost on all the following Wikipedia pages 
- Oscillatory motion and damping
- Retrograde burn / Orbit insertion/ Orbital manoeuvres
- Momentum wheels / Control moment gyroscopes
- Radiative cooling / combustion chambers
- automatic Exposure adjustment
- Shadows
Very cool, China and Chang'E 2. Thanks!
PS: During one of those trim manoeuvres, I noticed that at first, only the throat seemed to glow, but was then followed by some part downstream on the bell glowing too. Is this exposure adjustment by the camera? Passing into orbital sunset, or does the orbiter use two settings for its throttle during these burns?
You see why I hope Chang'e 3 has similar engineering cameras? Imagine a view next to the engine during lunar descent, or watching the rover scoot off its platform!
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#44
by
savuporo
on 02 Dec, 2013 02:04
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It does have similar engineering cameras, so expect awesome footage.
This is a Chang'e we can believe in : )
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#45
by
NovaSilisko
on 02 Dec, 2013 02:12
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It does have similar engineering cameras, so expect awesome footage.
Great to hear. I hope we get some footage of earth and the moon en route. Especially if there's an angle looking across the deck of the lander, with the rover in frame. Would be a really cool publicity shot if you could get earth or moon in the frame of that.
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#46
by
Guanglin_Galaxy
on 10 Dec, 2013 18:37
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The 1:1 model of Chinese Lunar Rover "Yutu"("Jade Rabbit") carried by Chang'E 3 Lander. Two NavCams(left, "black") and two PanCams(right, "red") and Directional Antenna can be seen on the mast. Two HazCams are on the low-front side. The "slope" below the Chinese National Flag is an Infrared Imaging Spectrometer. On the right side of the Flag, the guy with many "tentacles" is a Lattice Laser-Beams Generator. There is only one instrument on the end of robotic arm, which is called Alpha Particle X-Ray Spectrometer(APXS) and also has been used on Spirit and Opportunity's arms. The small "cylindrical envelope" will ensure APXS survive from the lunar night. Ground Penetrating Radar, which contains two slim antennas, is on the rear side of the rover(hardly can be seen in this picture).
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#47
by
savuporo
on 10 Dec, 2013 18:41
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I like the Economist version of Chang'e with Yutu the best so far
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#48
by
savuporo
on 12 Dec, 2013 23:36
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Okay, who was looking for some
really really nice die cast models ?
China’s first line of "Lunar Probe" Precious Metals includes gold sculpture and gold/silver commemorative medals, among which the gold sculpture named Chang'e Flying to the Moon, is made of 99.9% fine gold, coded by ICBC, and available to global buyers with limited volume. It represents the first gold sculpture product in China combining "gold, lunar exploration and sculptural artwork", and so far the only "Lunar Exploration" gold product in the world. It has three specifications: 29 sculptures in 2000 grams, 99 sculptures in 1000 grams and 999 sculptures in 500 grams.
The sculpture was made by renowned Chinese artist Yuan Xikun and is the world's only gold artwork embedded with rocket debris. Yuan spent half a year making the piece.
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#49
by
KelvinZero
on 13 Dec, 2013 09:15
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Good luck to the chinese moon landing!
Though I desperately hope the mission is a complete success from end to end, it occurred to me that how they respond to a failure would in a way be more important than a success. Im sure the scientists and engineers are sincere but are the politicians that provide the funding looking for flashy successes or are they prepared to treat each failure as a gem, to separate the true from the untrue. The physics of space travel cuts through all human conceit.
..though to be honest, mainly Im thinking "buggies on the moon.. cool!"
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#50
by
collectSPACE
on 13 Dec, 2013 15:27
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Okay, who was looking for some really really nice die cast models ?
Perhaps I am mistaken, but it appears the model is of the goddess Chang'e and not the spacecraft or rover. (The other "precious medal products" being offered are medallions.)
The sculpture was made by renowned Chinese artist Yuan Xikun and is the world's only gold artwork embedded with rocket debris. Yuan spent half a year making the piece.These sculptures were introduced before the Chang'e-3 launch, so it sounds like the debris came from an earlier rocket...
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#51
by
savuporo
on 13 Dec, 2013 15:44
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#52
by
faramund
on 13 Dec, 2013 21:32
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Does anyone have any guesses on when its supposed to land, a few pages say 14th, which is today, now, in the West Pacific.
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#53
by
HappyMartian
on 14 Dec, 2013 15:01
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#54
by
Duds
on 14 Dec, 2013 16:41
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Congratulations!!
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#55
by
savuporo
on 14 Dec, 2013 16:49
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It took a while, but finally,
Wan Hu can rest in peace !
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#56
by
AS-503
on 14 Dec, 2013 16:55
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It took a while, but finally, Wan Hu can rest in peace !
I think its safe to say he is resting in piece(s)
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#57
by
Rocket Science
on 14 Dec, 2013 17:24
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Now that’s what I call the epitome of home delivery of Chinese.... “Eagle, you ordered egg rolls?”
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#58
by
savuporo
on 14 Dec, 2013 17:27
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Now that’s what I call the epitome of home delivery of Chinese.... “Eagle, you ordered egg rolls?”
I cringe fearing the bad jokes hitting the interwebs now ..
Wernher Von Braun @DrVonBraun 2h
Do you know how much China's rover weighs? Won-Ton.
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#59
by
Rocket Science
on 14 Dec, 2013 17:40
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Now that’s what I call the epitome of home delivery of Chinese.... “Eagle, you ordered egg rolls?”
I cringe fearing the bad jokes hitting the interwebs now ..
Wernher Von Braun @DrVonBraun 2h
Do you know how much China's rover weighs? Won-Ton.
You bet, “if over 50 years late, it’s free”....
