ESA Assisting Chinese In Lunar Mission
China is heading to the moon. The
country's first-ever moon probe was launched early Thursday morning
by the Chinese National Space Administration (CNSA). Chang'e-1
blasted off from the Xichang Satellite Launch Center, Sichuan, atop
a Long March 3A rocket.
Chang'e-1 represents the first step in the Chinese ambition to
land robotic explorers on the Moon before 2020.
The European Space Agency tells ANN Chang'e-1 has four mission
goals to accomplish. The first is to make three-dimensional images
of many lunar landforms and outline maps of major lunar geological
structures. This mapping will include the first detailed images
taken of some regions near the lunar poles.
Chang'e-1 is also designed to analyze the abundance of up to 14
chemical elements and their distribution across the lunar surface.
Thirdly it will measure the depth of the lunar soil and lastly it
will explore the space weather between the Earth and the Moon.
The spacecraft is large, weighing in at over 5,180 lbs -- and it
will operate from a low, circular lunar orbit, just 124 miles above
the surface of the Moon. The probe is designed to operate for one
year.
ESA is collaborating with the Chinese on this mission by
providing spacecraft and ground operations support services to
CNSA. The two agencies will also share data and encourage a
visitors' program, so that researchers can learn from each
other.
During ESA's SMART-1 mission, the Agency provided the Chinese
with details of the spacecraft's position and transmission
frequencies, so that the Chinese could test their tracking stations
and ground operations by following it. This was part of their
preparation for Chang'e-1. Now it is time for Chang'e-1 itself to
fly.
Hermann Opgenoorth, Head of ESA's Solar System Missions Division
says, "Participation in Chang'e-1 gives European scientists and ESA
experts a welcome opportunity to maintain and pass on their
expertise and to continue their scientific work. Based on the
experience gained with this first mission, we intended to cooperate
on the next missions in China's Chang'e line of lunar
explorers."
To perform its science mission, Chang'e-1 carries a variety of
instruments: a CCD stereo camera, a laser altimeter, an imaging
interferometer, a gamma-ray/X-ray spectrometer, a microwave
radiometer, a high-energy particle detector, and a solar wind
particle detector.
Named after the Chinese goddess of the Moon, Chang'e-1
represents the first phase in the Chinese Lunar Exploration Program
(CLEP). This program is expected to last until around 2020 and the
next phase will include a lander and associated rover. Looking
farther into the future, plans are being drawn up for a sample
return mission to bring lunar rocks to Earth for analysis.
"ESA's expertise in tracking Chang'e-1 sets the stage for future
cooperation with China. The Agency's tracking station network,
ESTRACK, is a resource that benefits not only the Agency but also
all space science through such international cooperation," said
Erik Soerensen, Head of the System Requirements and Validation
Section at ESA's European Space Operations Center.