Category Archives: Chang’e Program

Weekend Edition
Fri-Mon / 30 July – 2 Aug 2021

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China Shares Moon Samples / Data, Plans Lunar Orbital Relay in Support of South Pole Missions

Data from 13 institutional analyses of Chang’e-5 samples (17 g) now available from CNSA Lunar Exploration and Space Engineering Center, applications for second sample release due 15 Sept; 1,731 g total collected within Oceanus Procellarum, site officially named Statio Tianchuan per IAU; With Chang’e-6 sample return mission targeting Aitken crater in vicinity of South Pole and Chang’e-7/8 explicitly targeting MSP, CNSA plans new data relay satellite – rather than operating in L2 halo orbit, new lunar relay to transmit from highly elliptical orbit nearer lunar surface, allowing up to 10 Mbps down/ 1 Mbps up

Credits: CAST, CLEP, CNSA

Weekend Edition
Fri-Mon / 14-17 Aug 2020

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USA, China On Fast Track For Human Moon Missions Through Sustained Science, Exploration Programs

NASA LRO Surpasses 5 Years In Polar Mapping Orbit Collecting Data For Landings; Part Of Extensive Artemis SPD-1 To Achieve Humans At Moon South Pole (MSP) 2024, CLPS Program To See 1st Commercial Landings [Astrobotic, Intuitive Machines] Second Half Of 2021, Masten To MSP 2022, VIPER MSP 2023, PRIME-1 & 19D Contracts Upcoming; China / Zhongguo Chang’e-4 Operating On Farside, CE-5 Sample Return Launching 24 Nov, CE-6 Payloads Being Selected, CE-7 Collaboration With Russia Developing, CE-8 In 2027 May Be Final Robotic Landing Before Crew

Credits: NASA, CNSA, NAOC-CAS

Friday / 15 May 2020

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2020 Q4 Moon Landings: China Chang’e-5 Sample Return On Track, India Chandryaan-3 May Still Be Possible

China Lunar Exploration Program Pushes Forward With CE-5 Launch Planned Late 2020, Return To Earth With Up To 2-kg Sample From Mons Rümker Within 1 Month; Recent Successful Long March 5 Launch From Wenchang Site 19°N At Hainan Vital For Program; India Accelerated Chandrayaan-3 Plans To Achieve Moon Landing Near South Pole Before 2021 Could Be Possible, Potentially With Lower Cost, Depending On Health Concern Delay — Ad Astra Per Aspera

Pictured: CLEP Chief Scientist Ouyang Ziyuan, ISRO Chair K. Sivan
Credits: CNSA, NOAC-CAS, ISRO

Weekend Edition
Fri-Mon / 1-4 May 2020

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Artemis And Chang’e: Two Mythological Women Lead Humanity Forward, Upward

China Chang’e Program Of 4 Successful Missions To Date, 1st To Land On Moon This Century & 1st On Lunar Far Side, Prepares For Sample Return CE-5 Dec 2020, Continues CE-4 Astrophysics From Surface & Communications From Cislunar Space, Could See 2-4 More Missions Before Human Landings; USA 21st Century Artemis Program Est. 2017 Extends Its Branches Through Multiple Infrastructure Contracts (SLS, Orion, CLPS, VIPER, PRISM) To Realize First Women And Next Men On Moon – At Unexplored Moon South Pole 2024

 

Credits: NASA, CNSA, NAOC-CAS, CLEP

Weekend Edition
Fri-Mon / 14-17 Feb 2020

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New Race To Moon South Pole – Malapert Mountain

Multiple Nations And Commercial Enterprises Aiming For Lunar South Polar Region; Following CNSA Chang’e-5 Sample Return In 2020, Chang’e-6 And Chang’e-7 Will Explore South Pole; ISRO Chandrayaan-3, -4 and -5 Will Continue Polar Landing Goal Of Chandrayaan-2; SpaceX Promises Lunar Landings By 2022; NASA Commercial Lunar Payload Services May Carry Payloads Such As The International Lunar Observatory ILO-1 For Galaxy Imaging And Broadcasting From Malapert Mountain, One Of The Most Important And Valuable Sites In Solar System

Credits: NASA, CNSA, ISRO, SpaceX, ILOA

Weekend Edition
Fri-Mon / 10-13 Jan 2020

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International Moon Landings 2020-2021 Begin Lunar Decade

Multiple Nations And Commercial Enterprises Prepare For Landings In First Years Of Lunar Decade; India Proceeding At Full Speed With Chandrayaan-3 (BR) For November 2020; China (Zhongguo) Plans Chang’e-5 (TR) NLT Dec 2020; NASA Commercial Lunar Services Providers Astrobotic And Intuitive Machines (L) Both Plan Landings NET July 2021; Chang’e-6 And Chang’e-7 Planned For Near Future; Chandrayaan-4 May Follow In Cooperation With JAXA, And Possibly Chandrayaan-5; SpaceX And Blue Origin (C) Also Plan To Land Payloads In Early 2020s

Credits: NASA, Blue Origin, CNSA, ISRO

Weekend Edition
Fri-Mon / 6-9 Dec 2019

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China (Zhongguo) Long March 5 Flight To Support Moon, Mars, Human Spaceflight Ambitions

 Long March 5 Critical Return To Flight Counting Down To 27 December 2019 Launch From Wenchang Spaceport On Hainan Island; Long March 5 Planned To Launch Chang’e-5 Lunar Sample Return And 2020 Mars Mission; Moon Samples To Be Analyzed At Special Facility Headed By China Lunar Exploration Program Chief Scientist Ouyang Ziyuan; China Plans 30 Orbital Launches In 2020; Space Station Modules, CE-6, CE-7 And CE-8 Planned To Be Launched By Long March Variants Starting In 2021

Credits: CAST, Shanghai Institute of Technology

Tuesday / 5 November 2019

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China Considers US$10 Trillion Earth-Moon / Cislunar Economic Zone

With Chang’e-4 Operating On Lunar Surface And Chang’e-5 Slated For Launch In 2020 On Long March 5, China Is Considering Establishing A Cislunar Space Economic Zone; Bao Weimin (R) Of China Aerospace Science And Technology Corporation Reveals Decades-Long Plan At Seminar On Space Economy; Key Technologies Would Be Finished By 2030 Including Long March 9 Heavy Lift Booster, And Regular Transportation To Moon Established By 2040; Earth-Moon Region Could Potentially Generate US$10T In Commerce By 2050

Credits: CAST, CNSA, Hong Kong Polytechnic University

Friday / 27 Sep 2019

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Zhongguo Scientists Measure Lunar Dust At Chang’e-3 Landing Site

Chang’e-3 Lander At Mare Imbrium Since December 2013 Contains Quartz Crystal Microbalance Used For Weighing Dust; Lanzhou Institute Of Physics Researchers Find That At Chang’e-3 Height Of 1.9 Meters Dust Accumulates At 0.0065 mg Per Square Centimeter Over 12 Lunar Days; Dust Is Considered Important For Human Return To Moon Both As A Challenge And Potential Resource; Now In Lunar Night 73, Lunar Ultraviolet Telescope Is Still Operational While Lander Is Powered Down To Allow For Chang’e-4 Communications

Credits: NAOC, CAS, NSA, ILOA

Weekend Edition
Fri-Mon / 20-23 Sep 2019

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China-Russia To Cooperate On Chang’e-7 And Luna-26

Roscosmos Head Dmitry Rogozin (L) And Zhang Keqiang Of CNSA (R) Sign Cooperation Agreement In Saint Petersburg; Zhongguo Planning Chang’e-5 Sample Return And Chang’e-6 Mission To South Pole On Long March 5 Booster; Russia Planning Luna-25 Landing In South Pole Region In 2021; Luna-26 Orbiter To Cooperate With Chang’e-7 In 2023-24; Russia Hoping For Lunar Sample Return In 2028; Both Nations Will Open Joint Data Center For Lunar And Deep Space Research

Credits: Roscosmos, IAF, NAOC