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December Launch for China's "Yutu" Lunar Probe

Nov 27, 2013

China is scheduled to launch its Chang'e-3 lunar probe to the moon in early December, the first time a Chinese spacecraft will soft-land on the surface of an extraterrestrial body, an official said on Tuesday.

The lunar probe will land on the moon in mid December if everything goes to plan, said Wu Zhijian, spokesman with the State Administration of Science, Technology and Industry for National Defence (SASTIND).

Chang'e-3 includes a lander and a moon rover called "Yutu" (Jade Rabbit). Tasks for Yutu include surveying the moon's geological structure and surface substances and looking for natural resources, Ouyang Ziyuan, chief scientist of China's lunar orbiter project, said in an interview with Xinhua.

Yutu, a six-wheel driving rover weighing about 140 kg, will land in Sinus Iridum, or the Bay of Rainbows, and will operate there for three months. It can travel at a speed of 200 meters per hour.

The Bay of Rainbows was selected because the level terrain will enable smooth communication and ample sunshine. Previous lunar missions were near the lunar equator, and no country has surveyed the Bay of Rainbows yet. The area has been "left blank" in the study of the moon, said Ouyang.

The Chang'e-3 mission is the second phase of China's lunar program, which includes orbiting, landing and returning to Earth. It follows the success of the Chang'e-1 and Chang'e-2 missions in 2007 and 2010.

Chinese scientists have made technological breakthroughs for the Chang'e-3 mission, which will be the most complicated and difficult task yet in China's exploration of space, SASTIND spokesman Wu said.

"More than 80 percent of the technology adopted in the mission is new," he explained, adding that narrow time windows mean a timely launch is essential.

Many technologies will be used to ensure the probe makes a soft landing in low-gravity conditions. The rover will separate from the lander onto the exploration area around the landing site.

According to the plan, the probe will slowly descend to about 100 m above the Moon surface, and move horizontally on its own to avoid obstacles, then descend onto a flat surface on the moon.

During this time, it will scan and analyze the surface automatically without human control from Earth.

Scientists have simulated the moon's soil environment in a lab and found a place to test the rover, but Yutu will still face challenges on its real mission including temperature differences of over 300 degrees Celsius on the moon.

The lunar program will also make breakthroughs in remote controlling between the moon and Earth. High-precision observation and control technologies as well as lunar positioning will be used in the mission, which includes experiments that would be extremely difficult to conduct on Earth's surface, Wu said.

If successful, the mission will mean China has the ability of in-situ exploration on an extraterrestrial body, said Sun Huixian, deputy engineer-in-chief in charge of the second phase of China's lunar program.

"China's space exploration will not stop at the moon," he said. "Our target is deep space."

Li Benzheng, deputy commander-in-chief of China's lunar program, added that China's space exploration does not aim at competition.

"We are open in our lunar program, and cooperation from other countries is welcome," he said. "We hope to explore and use space for more resources to promote human development." (Xinhua)

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