China Ends Lunar Probe Mission
Posted on: Monday, 2 March 2009, 06:30 CST
On Sunday, China ended a 16-month lunar mission by intentionally crashing its probe into the moon.
According to Xinhua News Agency, the Chang’e 1 lunar satellite collided with the moon mid-afternoon Beijing time.
The Chang’e 1, which is named for the moon goddess, was under remote control by two observation stations in east China’s Qingdao and Kashgar, a small city in northwest China.
The lunar probe surveyed the surface of the moon using stereo radar.
Originally launched in October 2007, the Chang’e 1 satellite was the first step in a plan to put a vehicle on the moon by 2012.
China will soon send the Chang’e 2 satellite before sending a moon-lander.
In 2003, China staged its first manned mission, making it the third country, after the United States and Russia, to do so.
Last autumn, the nation performed its first space walk, captivating the nation.
According to Beijing officials, China plans to land a man on the moon in the near future, and has plans to build a permanent space station.
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Image Caption: The launch of Chang'e 1 at Xichang Satellite Launch Center.
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Source: redOrbit Staff & Wire Reports
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User Comments (1)
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Posted by Jamie on 03/02/2009, 08:28 Ironic to see this story on "redorbit" :-) Congrats to the Chinese for building up a space program. I just hope the US uses this as a wake up to accelerate our return to the moon. Luckily, there is plenty of space out there in space. It would be great if we could all cooperate, as it is probably the only only way a long-term viable human space effort can be mounted. What we need is some innovation in space propulsion technology - we are all still using pretty much the same principles they had in the 1960's, plus lots more computer power. |
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