1.2 The Moon goddess and the Jade Rabbit

The Chinese sent orbiters to the Moon in 2007 and 2010, and named them Chang’e 1 and Chang’e 2, after the Moon goddess of Chinese mythology. They then used Chang’e 3 to deliver a 140 kg robotic rover to the surface in December 2013, which they named Yutu (meaning ‘Jade Rabbit’, named after the Moon goddess’s pet). The lander was equipped with an astronomical telescope to observe distant objects in ultraviolet light (which cannot be done from Earth because of our atmosphere), and the rover had probes and cameras to study the lunar regolith. The Chang’e 3 mission can be seen as a test of the robotic exploration strategy discussed by Ian Crawford in the previous video, but it may also be a precursor to a future Chinese manned landing.

Figure _unit9.2.2 Figure 2 Yutu imaged from the Chang’e 3 lander, 22 December 2013. The landing site is in the northwest of the Mare Imbrium.

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Yutu imaged from the Chang’e 3 lander, 22 December 2013. The landing site is in the northwest of the Mare Imbrium.

Figure 2 Yutu imaged from the Chang’e 3 lander, 22 December 2013. The landing site is in the northwest of the Mare Imbrium.

The lander and Yutu were shut down during each lunar night, which lasts nearly 15 Earth-days. Yutu awoke to find itself unable to move on the third lunar day (23 Feb), but continued to function, and provided analyses suggesting a previously unsampled variety of mare basalt. Lots of images from Chang’e 3 and Yutu can be found hereand if you go to this link you will find a remarkable interactive 360-degree panorama constructed from Chang’e 3 lander images (the Earth in the lunar sky is faked though).

China’s next lunar mission, the ‘Chang’e 5 Test Mission’ was launched in October 2014 on a return trajectory to the Moon (without landing) as an engineering test for the future Chang’e 5 sample return mission.

The lander’s astronomical instruments continued to function as well. If you want to follow the progress of the mission, try the links below. The surface package finally ceased to function in late July 2016, after nearly 1000 days of surface operations.

China’s next lunar mission, the “Chang’e 5 Test Mission” was launched in October 2014 on a return trajectory to the Moon (without landing) as an engineering test for the Chang’e 5 sample return mission planned for November 2017 but delayed following the failure of a Long March 5 rocket in July 2017.

Chang’e 4, a lander on the Moon’s far side is scheduled AFTER Chang’e 5, in the 2018-2020 time frame.

Next, you have a chance to weigh up some of the costs of sending objects into space. It’s a very basic non-scored quiz. Don’t worry if you don’t know some of the answers. Take an educated guess.

See also:

• Yutu update July 2014 A summary of known information into July 2014.
• Chang’e 4 announcement Plans for the first ever lunar far side landing.
• Chang’e 3 update and Chang’e 4 plans. The status of Chang’e 3 and plans for the Chang’e 4 far-side landing and the necessary relay satellite, summarised in January 2016.
• Chang’e 4 farside landing plans as of June 2016. News of plans for 2018/9 far side landing, and confirmation that Chang’e 5 sample return mission from the near side will probably precede this.
• Chang’e 5 plans An informative blog about China’s Moon plans from the Planetary Society, dated April 2017.
• Chang’e 5 ready for launch. News as China readies for the Chang’e 5 launch.