Chang'e 2 to be Lunar Orbiter

Aviation Week is reporting the Chinese Space Agency's Chang'e 2 will be the second of two lunar orbiters, and not a lander, as some had thought.

CNSA, to be fair, hasn't made any allusions to Chang'e 2 being more than a better version of Chang'e 1, which is still in lunar orbit and reportedly still sending data. Few, if any, of Chang'e 1's CCD images have been released to the public for months, however, leading some to speculate the vehicle has failed or malfunctioned.

Others, including CNSA, still say Chang'e 1 has always been intended as a test bed for Chang'e 2's mission.

If so, it may be quite a shake-down ahead for mission planners. Though attaining lunar orbit by remote control is no small accomplishment. If China continues a methodical approach and delivering on explicit promises, a roving lander and sample mission will be launched from China not far in the future.

By Craig Covault/Aviation Week Intelligence Network

China's second unmanned lunar mission, Chang'e 2, will be a lunar orbiter, not a rover as implied earlier by Chinese reports.

Planned for launch in 2009-2010, it will carry somewhat different instrumentation than Chang'e 1, but will make no attempt to land, according to Ye Peijiam, who helped design the highly successful Chang'e 1. That spacecraft is still operating in lunar orbit.

The first Chinese moon landing attempt will not be made until about 2012 with a lunar rover that could be followed by a sample return mission as early as 2017. Both vehicles will be powered in part by nuclear power generators. The rover and sample return spacecraft will be launched by China's new oxygen/hydrogen powered Long March 5 rocket series still undergoing ground tests.

The Long March 5 design is similar to the United Launch Alliance Delta IV, designed originally by Boeing. Like the Delta IV, the Long March 5 is to have a two-stage oxygen/hydrogen powered core with overall vehicle capability adjusted by adding strap-on boosters.