2018年CRI Moon Day special: China's lunar exploration program

 

Friday is Moon Day, which commemorates¹ the first human landing on the Moon on July 20, 1969. To mark the occasion, let's take a look at China's lunar exploration program.

The Chang'e program

China's lunar exploration program started in 2004. It is named after the Chinese moon goddess, Chang'e.

The three-stage program includes orbiting and then landing on the Moon, and bringing samples of the lunar surface back to Earth.

Chang'e-1

China's first lunar probe, Chang'e-1, was launched on October 24, 2007. China was the world's fifth country to develop and launch its own lunar probe.

Orbiting 200 kilometers above the Moon, it mapped 3D images of the lunar surface, analyzed² the distribution of its elements, measured the depth of the lunar soil, and explored the environment between the Earth and the Moon.

Chang'e-1 helped Chinese scientists develop the country's first complete map of the Moon's surface.

After orbiting the Moon for about 16 months, the probe made a controlled crash on the lunar surface in March 2009.

Chang'e-2

The Chang'e-2 lunar probe blasted off on October 1, 2010.

Chang'e-2 gained a full lunar map with a spatial³ resolution of seven meters, showing more detail of the lunar surface.

The probe also took pictures of the Sinus Iridum, also known as the Bay of Rainbows, of the proposed landing site of Chang'e-3.

After completing its main tasks, Chang'e-2 flew to the L2 point of the Sun-Earth system, to conduct scientific experiments where the gravity from the Sun and Earth balances the orbital motion of a satellite.

In December 2012, the probe successfully flew by and captured images of the Toutatis asteroid⁴.

The probe has now become a man-made asteroid in the solar system.

Chang'e-3

Chang'e-3 was launched on December 2, 2013. It included a lander and a moon rover called Yutu (Jade Rabbit).

It touched down softly at Sinus Iridum 12 days later, making China the third country, after the United States and the former Soviet⁵ Union, to achieve a soft landing on the moon.

The lander and the rover took photos of each other as the rover circled the lander.

The probe developed a geological profile of the Moon, and recorded the geological structure 330 meters beneath the lunar surface. In doing so, it discovered a new kind of lunar rock.

An optical telescope installed on the lander conducted observations in the ultraviolet band of celestial⁶ bodies above the North Pole of the Moon.

Another instrument, an ultraviolet camera, obtained images of the Earth's plasma⁷ layer, which could help to better forecast space weather and ensure the safety of communications on Earth, as well as between Earth and spacecraft.

Test craft for Chang'e-5

China launched an experimental spacecraft on October 24, 2014 to test technologies to be used in the Chang'e-5, which is expected to bring samples of the Moon back to Earth.

The spacecraft, comprised of a re-entry capsule and a service module⁸, flew half an orbit around the Moon. After the re-entry and service capsules separated, the re-entry capsule approached the Earth's atmosphere at about 11.2 kilometers per second.

The return capsule touched down at the designated landing area in Siziwang Banner, north China's Inner Mongolia Autonomous⁹ Region, on November 1, 2014.

The service module flew back to orbit the Moon for further tests, and reached the L2 point of the Earth-Moon system to conduct experiments.

Chang'e-4

China launched a relay satellite named Queqiao (Magpie Bridge) on May 21, 2018 to set up a communication link between the Earth and the Moon's far side.

The satellite entered the Halo orbit around the second Lagrangian (L2) point of the Earth-Moon system on June 14.

It will play a vital role in China's Chang'e-4 lunar probe, which is expected to be the first-ever soft-landing probe on the Moon's far side later this year.

Chang'e-5

China plans to launch the Chang'e-5 lunar probe in 2019, which is expected to bring lunar samples back to the Earth.

The Chang'e-5 lunar probe will be very complex, containing four parts: an orbiter, a returner, an ascender and a lander.

After fulfilling the three steps of its lunar probe program - orbiting, landing and returning - China will conduct further exploration of the Moon, including landing and probing the polar regions of the Moon.

1 commemorates   

n.纪念，庆祝( commemorate的名词复数 )v.纪念，庆祝( commemorate的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• A tombstone is erected in memory of whoever it commemorates. 墓碑是为纪念它所纪念的人而建的。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• A tablet commemorates his patriotic activities. 碑文铭记他的爱国行动。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》

2 analyzed   

v.分析( analyze的过去式和过去分词 )；分解；解释；对…进行心理分析

参考例句：

• The doctors analyzed the blood sample for anemia. 医生们分析了贫血的血样。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The young man did not analyze the process of his captivation and enrapturement, for love to him was a mystery and could not be analyzed. 这年轻人没有分析自己蛊惑著迷的过程，因为对他来说，爱是个不可分析的迷。 来自《简明英汉词典》

3 spatial   

adj.空间的，占据空间的

参考例句：

• This part of brain judges the spatial relationship between objects.大脑的这部分判断物体间的空间关系。
• They said that time is the feeling of spatial displacement.他们说时间是空间位移的感觉。

4 asteroid   

n.小行星；海盘车(动物)

参考例句：

• Astronomers have yet to witness an asteroid impact with another planet.天文学家还没有目击过小行星撞击其它行星。
• It's very unlikely that an asteroid will crash into Earth but the danger exists.小行星撞地球的可能性很小，但这样的危险还是存在的。

5 Soviet   

adj.苏联的，苏维埃的；n.苏维埃

参考例句：

• Zhukov was a marshal of the former Soviet Union.朱可夫是前苏联的一位元帅。
• Germany began to attack the Soviet Union in 1941.德国在1941年开始进攻苏联。

6 celestial   

adj.天体的；天上的

参考例句：

• The rosy light yet beamed like a celestial dawn.玫瑰色的红光依然象天上的朝霞一样绚丽。
• Gravity governs the motions of celestial bodies.万有引力控制着天体的运动。

7 plasma   

n.血浆，细胞质，乳清

参考例句：

• Keep some blood plasma back for the serious cases.留一些血浆给重病号。
• The plasma is the liquid portion of blood that is free of cells .血浆是血液的液体部分，不包含各种细胞。

8 module   

n.组件，模块，模件；(航天器的)舱

参考例句：

• The centre module displays traffic guidance information.中央模块显示交通引导信息。
• Two large tanks in the service module held liquid oxygen.服务舱的两个大气瓶中装有液态氧。

9 autonomous   

adj.自治的；独立的

参考例句：

• They proudly declared themselves part of a new autonomous province.他们自豪地宣布成为新自治省的一部分。
• This is a matter that comes within the jurisdiction of the autonomous region.这件事是属于自治区权限以内的事务。