14 January 2019
Wu Yanhua, Deputy Head of the China National Space Administration said at a news conference on 14 January that the next step in China's lunar exploration programme, the sample return mission Chang'e 5, will take place around the end of this year.
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12 January 2019
Leonard David explains in an article on his website the work of NASA's LRO team to identify Chang'e 4's landing site: "NASA Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO) imagery has been used to further pinpoint the landing locale of China’s Chang’e-4 farside lander. Looking at the just released Chang’e-4 descent frames to the surface made it easy to find the exact landing spot in a Narrow Angle Camera image produced by the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter Camera, or LROC. That image was taken prior to the Chang’e-4’s touchdown, explains Mark Robinson, the principal investigator of the LROC at Arizona State University in Tempe."
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13 January 2019
In 2013, China launched Chang'e 3, the country's first spacecraft to soft-land on the moon. The scientific instruments on its lander are still operating after more than 60 lunar nights in the past five years. "It was a success, but Chang'e 3 was designed according to foreign temperature data," said Zhang He, Executive Director of the Chang'e 4 probe project, from the China Academy of Space Technology (CAST). "Chang'e 4 will measure the temperature differences between the day and night on the moon, helping scientists estimate the properties of the lunar soil," she said.
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11 January 2018
China's Chang'e 4 probe took panoramic photos on the lunar surface after it successfully made the first ever soft-landing on the far side of the Moon. On 11 January, CNSA released the 360-degree panoramic photos taken by a camera installed on the top of the lander.
panorama version 1
panorama version 2
Video shows soft landing process of Chang'e 4
Craters surrounding Chang'e 4 pose challenge to lunar rover
11 January 2018
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China declares Chang'e 4 mission (already a) complete success
12 January 2019
Liu He and Zhang Youxia, member of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee and vice chairman of the CMC, arrived at the Beijing Aerospace Control Center on 11 January, watching the lander and rover taking photos of each other. Vice Premier Liu He read a congratulatory message. With the complete success of the mission, the fourth phase of China's lunar exploration program and the deep-space exploration programme will be inaugurated. The tasks ahead will be more arduous with unprecedented challenges, according to the message. "We are discussing and drawing up the plan for the fourth phase of the lunar exploration program, including missions to the polar regions of the Moon," said Wu Weiren, an academician of the Chinese Academy of Engineering and Chief Designer of China's lunar exploration programme.
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Chang'e-4 lunar probe to lay groundwork for human return to Moon
11 January 2019
China sent Zhongxing-2D satellite into space on a Long March-3B carrier rocket from the Xichang Satellite Launch Center in Sichuan Province on 11 January at 1:11 a.m. The satellite has entered the preset orbit. The Chinese-made communication and broadcasting satellite will provide transmission service for the country's radio, television stations and cable television networks.
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