hat do the China National Space
Administration (CNSA) and Pink Floyd
have in common? They both have
hits with the dark side of the Moon.
Although NASA’s New Horizons made headlines
entering the New Year with exciting new images
of an extremely distant Kuiper Belt Object, CNSA’s
Chang’e4probealsomadehistorybybecomingthe
firstobjecttolandonthedark,unexploredsideof
the Moon.
The unmanned space probe touched down in the
South Pole-Aitken Basin at 10:26am Beijing Time
(2:26am GMT) on 3 January 2019. After its soft
landing the spacecraft, with a rover residing inside
ready for later deployment, sent back its first images
of the far side of the Moon. These images have
increasedexcitementaroundthemissionasitlooks
to examine the dark side up close. After having made
a successful descent from a 15-kilometre (nine-mile)
altitude the probe landed in the Von Kármán Crater
and unfolded its antennae and solar panels under the
control of space engineers in Beijing.
The far side of the Moon is very different to
the familiar face that is tidally locked in Earth’s
direction. It has been seen by many orbiters over
the years, but it has never had a man-made
rover to keep it company due to the difficulty in
communication. With it being on the far side the
Moon blocks direct communication, which is why
Chang’e 4 has the Queqiao, meaning Magpie Bridge
in Chinese, relay satellite.
This spacecraft is placed at a gravitational
parking spot between the Earth and Moon 65,000
kilometres (40,000 miles) from the Moon’ surface.
This parking spot, also referred to as the second
“The far side of the Moon is very different
to the familiar face that is tidally locked
in Earth’s direction”
Right: The
lander sent
back its first
images of
the Moon’s
uncharted far
side soon after
its soft landingBelow:
Chang'e 4
touched down
on the landing
site within a
crater called
Von Kármán in
the South Pole-
Aitken BasinW
Lagrangian point (L2), can see both the far side
of the Moon and Earth and can therefore provide
constant communication.
The Chang’e 4 probe includes a total of eight
payloads – two of which were developed by the
Swedish Institute of Space Physics and Kiel University
in Germany – which will provide a deep examination
of the Moon. The aim of this mission is to conduct
low-frequency radio astronomical observations that
will survey the surrounding terrain and landscape,
detecting mineral composition to deduce if it’s any
different from the near-facing side and measure the
neutron radiation and neutral atoms.
Due to little exploration of the far side in the past
scientists can only infer that the lunar crust is much
thicker compared to the near side. The reality of the
situation is that no one knows for sure, however,
and only by conducting these sorts of exploration
missions and further thorough analysis of the data
can humans finally paint a full picture of our celestial
neighbour which lies just 384,400
kilometres (240,000
miles) from Earth.Chang’e 4 landing spot
Focus on Chang’e 4