TAIPEI, Taiwan (AP) – China is preparing to launch a moon probe on Friday. The lunar probe will land on the far side of the moon and bring back samples that could provide insight into geological and other differences between the less-explored and better-known regions. Closer side.
This unprecedented mission will be the latest advancement in an increasingly sophisticated and ambitious space exploration program that competes with the United States, which remains the space leader.China is already landed the probe The first country to do it on the far side of the moon in 2019.
With no exposure to Earth or other interference, the moon’s somewhat mysterious far side is ideal for radio astronomy and other scientific research. The far side never faces the Earth, so relay satellites are needed to maintain communications.
The Chang’e moon probe is named after the Chinese mythical moon goddess.
The spacecraft is aboard a Long March 5 YB rocket and is scheduled to lift off from the Wenchang Launch Center in the southern tropical island province of Hainan on Friday night, the China National Space Administration said in a statement. Launch time is 5-6 p.m., with a goal of 5:27 p.m.
Crowds of people flocked to beaches on Hainan Island to watch the launch, in the midst of China’s five-day May Day holiday.
After orbiting the moon and slowing down, the lander will separate from the spacecraft and begin collecting samples almost immediately upon landing. Afterwards, it will reconnect with the returner and return to Earth. The entire mission is scheduled to last 53 days.
China returned samples from the moon’s near side in 2020, the first time since the US Apollo program ended in the 1970s. Analysis of the sample revealed that water content Inside a small bead embedded in the moon’s soil.
Even in the past week, three chinese astronauts returned from a six-month mission on the country’s orbiting space station. arrival Of that replacement.
China is your own space station It was removed from the International Space Station, largely due to U.S. concerns about the Chinese military’s total control of the space program amid an escalating technological competition between the two geopolitical rivals. U.S. law prohibits nearly all cooperation between the U.S. and Chinese space programs without explicit Congressional approval.
China’s ambitious space program Aims to land astronauts on the moon by 2030, which will return samples from Mars around the same year and launch three lunar missions over the next four years. Next is the schedule for 2027.
Long-term plans call for building a permanent manned base on the moon, but it appears to be still in the conceptual stage.
China conducted its first manned space mission in 2003, becoming the third country after the former Soviet Union and the United States to use its own resources to send people into space.
Comprised of three modules, Tiangong is much smaller than the ISS and was launched in 2021 and completed 18 months later. It can accommodate up to six astronauts at a time and is primarily dedicated to scientific research. The crew will also install space debris protection equipment, conduct payload experiments, and teach beam science classes to students on Earth.
China has said it plans to do so eventually. Provide access to the space station for foreign astronauts and space tourists. The ISS is nearing the end of its useful life, and China may eventually become the only country or company to maintain a manned station in orbit.
The US space program is still considered to have a significant advantage over China in terms of spending, supply chains, and capabilities.
The United States aims to return crews to the moon by the end of 2025 as part of a new commitment to human missions, with support from private companies such as SpaceX and Blue Origin. They plan to land on the moon’s south pole. It is believed that a permanently shadowed crater is filled with frozen water.
