6 of 8 Chang'e-3 science instruments now active

Students learn about the ongoing Chang'e-3 mission at a primary school in Ganyu, Jiangsu province, on Tuesday. Designers are pleased with the mission's success so far, as experiments have gone more smoothly than expected [Si Wei/China Daily].

Emily Lakdawalla of The Planetary Society has performed a herculean labor, today, pulling together many threads to deliver what might be the best possible description of a "lengthy press briefing by several members of the Chang'e 3 science team," Wednesday.

"I found it to be quite informative," Emily wrote, "not just about the mission but also about attitudes about Chinese space exploration and foreign cooperation. It was useful background for my participation in an hour-long panel discussion on China Radio International's "Today" program."

A link to her detailed summary follows the official China Daily description, below:

Wang Fan
China Daily

Six out of the eight pieces of scientific equipment deployed to the moon with the Chang'e-3 lunar mission have been activated by scientists and are functioning properly, according to scientists working on the mission.

Speaking at a news conference on Tuesday, scientists said that the equipment aboard the Yutu lunar rover and the Chang'e-3 lander had so far been functioning as hoped, despite the unexpectedly rigorous conditions of the lunar environment.

"Except for the alpha particle X-ray spectrometer and the visible and near-infrared imaging spectrometer, the instruments have all been activated and are undergoing tests and adjustments," said Su Yan, deputy designer of the Chang'e-3 ground applications system.

Zhang He, deputy designer of the probe, said though the temperature disparity is greater than scientists had anticipated, all the equipment on the moon is in "perfect" condition, and optical and ultraviolet-imaging experiments are under way.

Scientists with the ground applications system are expecting to receive a colossal quantity of original data from the rover and lander, which have independent channels to send signals, Su said. The earlier Chang'e-1 and Chang'e-2 craft only had one channel each, he said.

The mission's success so far has been a relief to Wu Weiren, chief designer of China's lunar probe program. He said the whole process, including the launch, the soft landing, the separation of the rover and lander and the ongoing experiments, have gone "much smoother" than he had expected.

Read the full article at China Daily, HERE.

Big HT: to Emily Lakdawalla at The Planetary Society, for her well-translated transcription of Wednesday's press conference posted HERE.

Chang'e-3 undergoing thermal vacuum testing

Chang'E-3 begins thermal and hard vacuum testing at the AIT Hall  facility of the China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation in Beijing [CNSA/CLEP/CSA].

Emily Lakdawalla

The Planetary Society

A member of the NASASpaceflight.com forum has posted a large set of photos taken during Chang'E 3 thermal vacuum testing. They are all watermarked "China Space News" which is, as near as I can tell, a Chinese magazine -- I am hoping that the gigantic watermarks make it okay for me to post them. 

I'm posting them here in the spirit of asking forgiveness rather than permission, because I haven't been able to figure out a way to ask for permission. (EDIT: Here's where the photos were originally posted online.)

Thermal vacuum testing is one of the last major testing programs that a spacecraft has to endure before it is cleared for launch. It is a test that must be performed on the actual spacecraft that is headed for space -- not on an engineering model -- and it has to be done with the spacecraft essentially completely assembled.

Read the full article, links, and more images, HERE.

Related:

Chang'e-3: The Chinese Rover Mission (May 4, 2013)

Chang'E-3 lander and rover expected in 2013 (January 10, 2013)
'China's grand plan for lunar exploration' (October 11, 2012)
ILOA to study deep space from Chang'E-3 (September 11, 2012)
Will China deploys first lunar rover since 1976? (April 29, 2012)
China's Long March to the Moon (January 14, 2012)
China plans lunar research base (May 11, 2011)
PRC continues methodical program (March 8, 2011)
Chang'E-2 arrives in mission orbit (October 9, 2010)
Dispatch from Chang'E-2: Sinus Iridum (October 4, 2010)
Chang'E-2 takes direct approach (October 1, 2010)
Chang'E-2 sets stage for future lunar missions (September 3, 2010)
Chang-E-1 research reported published (July 22, 2010)

Chang'e-3: The Chinese Rover Mission

The Automatic Lunar Surface Exploring Vehicle, China's planned Chang'e-3 lunar rover, "a solar powered vehicle designed and built by the China Academy of Space Technology (CAST). The six-wheeled rover has a designed life of 90 days to explore three square kilometers, a total mass of 120 kg (with a 20kg payload capacity) designed to travel up to 10 kilometers." Illustration from "Will China deploy the first lunar rover since 1976?" - April 30, 2012.

Steve Nerlich
AmericaSpace.com

Currently scheduled for launch in December 2013, from the Xichang Satellite Launch Center in Sichuan province, the Chang’e 3 mission aims to land a Chinese rover on the Moon. If the mission is successful, it will be the first soft landing on the Moon since the Russian Luna 24 mission in 1976. Overseen by the China National Space Administration, the Chang’e program is following a step-wise approach to lunar exploration that could lead to the first taikonaut stepping onto the Moon by 2025.

The previous Chang’e 1 and 2 lunar orbiting missions, launched in 2007 and 2010, represented the first phase of the Chang’e program. Chang’e 3, to be followed by Chang’e 4, represent the second phase of the program, both involving rovers. The third phase, with Chang’e 5, will be sample-return mission and is currently scheduled for 2017. After that, it is anticipated that a new program will commence, which might culminate in a manned landing.

Chang’e is the name of a Chinese goddess who ascended to the Moon after consuming an immortality pill and there befriended a jade rabbit who was already a lunar resident. The elements of this legend were relayed by NASA to the Apollo 11 crew ahead of the first Moon landing in 1969. Michael Collins famously responded “Okay. We’ll keep a close eye out for the bunny girl”.

Read the full article, HERE.

Some Related Posts:

Chang'E-3 lander and rover expected in 2013 (January 10, 2013)
'China's grand plan for lunar exploration' (October 11, 2012)
ILOA to study deep space from Chang'E-3 (September 11, 2012)
Will China deploys first lunar rover since 1976? (April 29, 2012)
China's Long March to the Moon (January 14, 2012)
China plans lunar research base (May 11, 2011)
PRC continues methodical program (March 8, 2011)
Chang'E-2 arrives in mission orbit (October 9, 2010) Dispatch from Chang'E-2: Sinus Iridum (October 4, 2010)
Chang'E-2 takes direct approach (October 1, 2010)
Chang'E-2 sets stage for future lunar missions (September 3, 2010)
Chang-E-1 research reported published (July 22, 2010)

The Chang'E-3 lander and rover expected in 2013

The Automatic Lunar Surface Exploring Vehicle, China's planned Chang'e-3 lunar rover, "a solar powered vehicle designed and built by the China Academy of Space Technology (CAST). The six-wheeled rover has a designed life of 90 days to explore three square kilometers, a total mass of 120 kg (with a 20kg payload capacity) designed to travel up to 10 kilometers." LP illustration, "Will China deploy the first lunar rover since 1976? - April 30, 2012.

Emily Lakdawalla
The Planetary Society

One of the missions planned for launch this year is China's Chang'E 3. I had never paid any attention to Chang'E 3 until this week, so I had no idea how large or ambitious it is. Chang'E 3 is a 1200-kilogram, RTG-powered lunar soft lander with a 1-year nominal mission lifetime. On top of that, it includes a 100-kilogram rover equipped with cameras and APXS. The rover has a nominal lifetime of 3 months and range of 10 kilometers. Wow. Here's a cool artist's concept that Glen Nagle put together. Enjoy it -- this is the first time it's been published!

China announced late in 2011 that Chang'E 3 would be a lunar soft lander, to launch in 2013. Computer animations played on Chinese TV around that time (go to the 30-second mark) showed a lander deploying a smaller MER-like, solar-powered rover, with six basket-rimmed wheels and two pairs of cameras on a mast. It is expected to land in Sinus Iridum, an area well surveyed by Chang'E 2.

Read the excellent digest and review, HERE.

A Few Related Posts:

'China's grand plan for lunar exploration' (October 12, 2012)

ILOA to study deep space from Chang'E-3 (September 11, 2012)

China and the Moon (June 19, 2012)

Will China deploy the first lunar rover since 1976? (April 30, 2012)

China plans lunar research base (May 11, 2011)

PRC continues methodical program (March 9, 2011)

Checking up on the Space Launch System

The most recent publicly released artist's rendering of the Orion/SLS Block-1 architecture, now intended for a hoped-for 2017 debut. Success by streamlined commercial manned space companies filling America's low-Earth orbit manned spaceflight gap with the retirement of the Space Shuttle in 2011, the Space Launce System heavy-lift architecture will revive American manned spaceflight access to Cis-Lunar Space and beyond. Until then, NASA will utilize the work-horse Delta-IV heavy lift booster to begin unmanned flight testing of the Orion spacecraft beginning in 2014  [NASA].

Jason Davis

The Planetary Society Blog
 

When SpaceX's Dragon capsule returned from its historic trip to the International Space Station this May, it proved that -- in theory -- the idea of having private spaceflight companies relieve NASA of its low-Earth orbit taxi duties can succeed. Meanwhile, work continues on the Space Launch System, the next-generation deep space vehicle slated to take humans beyond Earth for the first time since 1972.

Orion arrives at KSC -- Amid much pomp and circumstance, the first space-bound Orion capsule arrived at Kennedy Space Center at the end of June. Orion sat naked during its official unveiling, baring its sea foam-green hull that was constructed using friction stir welding, a process in which metal is 'mixed' at the joint rather than melted (other space vehicles have used this technique, including SpaceX's Falcon 9 rocket). NASA officials, astronauts and politicians attended the official unveiling, including U.S. Senator Bill Nelson, who is fond of referring to the SLS by a different moniker: the "Monster Rocket."

Read the complete post HERE.

Related:
Orion Drop Test (April 18. 2012)

EM1: 2017 SLS/Orion lunar mission outlined (March 1, 2012)

Orion EFT1 Animation (No Narration)
Spudis: Double the Space Budget? (March 1, 2012)

NASA settles on SLS architecture (September 14, 2011)

"Finally, I write about Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter Camera photos."

Sinuous rille winding its way across a much larger rille in the heart of the Aristarchus Plateau, From Full Image [NASA/GSFC/Arizona State University].

Emily Lakdawalla, of The Planetary Society Blog, skips the temptation to "ooh and aah over the photos that LROC has shot of Apollo hardware," and takes a look forward to September 15, when NASA's Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter will enter it's mission-phase orbit.

"I am so sorry it's taken me so long to sit down and write about some of the amazing images being returned from the Moon by Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter. The Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter Camera or LROC is the sharpest camera ever sent to lunar orbit -- the only higher-resolution photos to have been returned from the Moon came from the spacecraft (and people!) that landed on it. There really isn't anything that compares to LROC except HiRISE at Mars."

Read her informative posting, HERE.

Dr. Harrison H. Schmitt's Parting of the Ways from The Planetary Society

""Consensus", as many have said,
merely represents the
absence of definitive science."

From Harrison H. Schmitt

You may or may not be aware of this weekend's dust up in the press between The Planetary Society leadership and me. In case you are interested, here is the full text of the email I sent to Lou, Jim and Scott in response tothe Society's release of its space policy statement.

Best regards, Jack------

From: Harrison H. Schmitt, Friday, 14 Nov 2008

To: <tps@planetary.org>

Subject: Resignation from Society

Dear Lou, Jim and Scott:

I am sorry, but I can no longer support the society in its goals as they seem to have gone back to being more political than rational. I want humankind on Mars more than most, but I, at least, feel obligated to look at this goal rationally. Specifically, relative to your bullet points:

TPS Statement * focusing on Mars as the driving goal of human spaceflight

---Having been deeply involved in this issue for many years, and having led several objective studies related to it, it is clear to me, and many other knowledgeable people, that returning to the Moon is the fastest and most cost effective path to Mars for the following reasons:

1. We need generations of engineers to relearn how to operate in deep space at and for long durations on a location that is more accessible than a trajectory to Mars or on Mars itself.

2. We have no clear technology approach for landing large payloads (40MT+) on Mars. Developing entry, descent and landing (EDL) concepts and testing those concepts in the Earth's upper atmosphere will be a major program in and of itself with uncertain cost and duration.

3. Knowing whether 1/6th g triggers human re-adaptation from the adverse consequences of 0g is critical to the design and mass of both Mars transportation systems and Mars surface operations.

4. Many concepts that will be required for operations on Mars need testing in a real-world deep space environment before committing to using those concepts in Mars exploration, including autonomous crew operations during entry, decent, landing and real-time exploration without communications support from Earth.

5. We need a heavy lift launch infrastructure that can support the assembly of large interplanetary spacecraft in Earth orbit, and the requirements to return to the Moon support the development of that infrastructure.

6. We need to develop an interplanetary propulsion system that allows continuous acceleration and deceleration so the travel time to Mars can be cut significantly. That also constitutes a program of uncertain duration and cost.

7. Depending on future understanding of several unknowns already mentioned above, access to lunar-derived consumables after leaving Earth-orbit may be necessary to reduce the launch mass of an interplanetary spacecraft to a feasible amount.

8. We need to certify sample collection and protection protocols on the Moon with exposure to lunar dust and polar volatiles as surrogates for micro-organisms or the planetary protection lobby will make sample return from Mars impossible.

9. We need to use robotic drilling and definitive testing on Mars to penetrate what is probably the only potential biogenesis and evolutionary environment on Mars that has been stable for >3.8 billion years, namely, the cryosphere-hydrosphere interface below the surface.

10. Extremely strong scientific reasons for further lunar exploration exist as have been documented by a large fraction of the lunar and planetary research community at the NASA Advisory Council's 2007 Tempe Workshop and by the National Research Council's recent study.

11. Returning to the Moon has a far better chance of sustained political support than does a far, far more costly, start from scratch Mars program. Absent sustained and increased budgetary support for the Vision for Space Exploration by the incoming Administration and Congress, any deep space initiative will be in doubt.

12. Finally, becoming a deep space-faring nation again constitutes a mult-generational endeavor, particularly if Mars is in the mix. Unfortunately, the government-run, politicized K-12 school system will not currently support such an endeavor. It has totally failed several generations of young people, not just in STEM subjects but in history, language and economics. This problem has to be solved first. The people requirements for a return to the Moon should help jump start that process, although it will take a much more grassroots effort to be successful.

TPS Statement *deferring humans landing on the Moon until the costs of the interplanetary transportation system and shuttle replacement are largely paid

---This strategy would leave deep space activities, exploration and resources to others, i.e., China, India, maybe Russia, for the indefinite future. I believe that would be major step in initiating the decline of America's global influence for freedom and the improvement the human condition. Although I wrote the book "Return to the Moon" as an illustration of how it makes financial and national sense for private investors to provide the Earth with the benefits of lunar Helium-3 fusion power, having NASA develop the initial Earth-Moon infrastructure may hasten the time when that alternative to fossil fuels and non-economic other alternatives becomes available.

TPS Statement * accelerating research into global climate change through more comprehensive Earth observations

---As a geologist, I love Earth observations. But, it is ridiculous to tie this objective to a "consensus" that humans are causing global warming when human experience, geologic data and history, and current cooling can argue otherwise. "Consensus", as many have said, merely represents the absence of definitive science. You know as well as I, the "global warming scare" is being used as a political tool to increase government control over American lives, incomes and decision making. It has no place in the Society's activities.

TPS Statement * achieving a step-by-step approach of new achievements in interplanetary flight, including a human mission to a near-Earth object

---Returning to the Moon achieves "step-by-step approach of new achievements in interplanetary flight" far better than not doing so, as I have indicated in my list above. Not going by way of the Moon will make the Mars objective far more difficult and more costly to achieve.

---Also, returning to the Moon enables a mission to a near-Earth object if such a mission can be justified scientifically, operationally, or resource-wise. I remain a skeptic on all three but am willing to debate the point.

---Returning to the Moon further enables, in a much more timely fashion and would a Mars initiative, the capability to do something about diverting an asteroid on a collision course with the Earth. We had this capability once, but lost it when the Saturn V assembly line was shut down in the early 1970s.

TPS Statement "In short, the Roadmap calls for "A new and flexible program, based on a series of important first-time achievements and an international commitment to exploration and discovery." International cooperation is strongly recommended both to reduce costs for any one nation and to increase public interest and support."

---I see that the Society has gone back to its roots on "international cooperation." If that phrase means "international management" of the critical path items in a Mars Program, then you clearly do not want to go to Mars. Nothing will prevent success with more certainty than to try this. The rest of the world will want a "one-nation, one vote" management regime for which history shows only a record of abject failure.

Many of the Society's members are good friends, but I just cannot support you in this effort.

Best regards, Jack