We all know that China's Jade Rabbit rover has soft landed on the surface of the Moon on 14th December, 2013. This is the first lunar soft landing after nearly 4 decades. The Jade Rabbit was deployed at 4:35 AM ( 2035 GMT Saturday) several hours after the Chang'e 3 probe landed on the moon.
The rover and the lander started taking photos of each other late sunday including the photos of the bright red and yellow stars of the Chinese flag on the Jade Rabbit. The photographing work began at about 11:42 M after the rover moved to a place a few meters away from the lander.
The colour pictures were transmitted to the Beijing Aerospace Control Center where the Chinese President watched the broadcast. China is planning to establish a permanent space station by 2020 and planning to send human to the moon.
Ma Xingrui, chief commander of China's lunar programme, declared the mission a "complete success" after the photographs showed the lander and rover were working, Xinhua said.
The main reason behind the China's lunar mission is to extract the moon's resources with the moon believed to hold Uranium, Titanium and other mineral resources. and also the possibility of solar power generation.
The China Central Television (CCTV) has aired video taken by the lander showing the rover leaving tracks in the dust as it gently coasted on to the moon's surface and rolled away. The probe has touched down on a 400 kilometer wide plain known as Sinus Iridum or the Bay of rainbows. Before landing the probe slowed down from 1.7 Kms per second and then hovered for 20 seconds, using sensors and 3D imaging to identify a flat area. The thrusters were then deployed 100 meters from the moon surface to gently guide the craft into its position. The landing process started at 9:00 PM on 14th December, 2013 for about 12 minutes. The Chang'e 3 unfolded the solar panels 4 minutes after landing so that lander and rover get the power.
The rover will be spending 3 months exploring moon's surface and looking for natural resources. It can climb slopes of upto 30 degrees and travel at 200 meters per hour.
The rover and the lander started taking photos of each other late sunday including the photos of the bright red and yellow stars of the Chinese flag on the Jade Rabbit. The photographing work began at about 11:42 M after the rover moved to a place a few meters away from the lander.The colour pictures were transmitted to the Beijing Aerospace Control Center where the Chinese President watched the broadcast. China is planning to establish a permanent space station by 2020 and planning to send human to the moon.
Ma Xingrui, chief commander of China's lunar programme, declared the mission a "complete success" after the photographs showed the lander and rover were working, Xinhua said.
The main reason behind the China's lunar mission is to extract the moon's resources with the moon believed to hold Uranium, Titanium and other mineral resources. and also the possibility of solar power generation.
The China Central Television (CCTV) has aired video taken by the lander showing the rover leaving tracks in the dust as it gently coasted on to the moon's surface and rolled away. The probe has touched down on a 400 kilometer wide plain known as Sinus Iridum or the Bay of rainbows. Before landing the probe slowed down from 1.7 Kms per second and then hovered for 20 seconds, using sensors and 3D imaging to identify a flat area. The thrusters were then deployed 100 meters from the moon surface to gently guide the craft into its position. The landing process started at 9:00 PM on 14th December, 2013 for about 12 minutes. The Chang'e 3 unfolded the solar panels 4 minutes after landing so that lander and rover get the power.
The rover will be spending 3 months exploring moon's surface and looking for natural resources. It can climb slopes of upto 30 degrees and travel at 200 meters per hour.
No comments:
Post a Comment