China's mission to dark side of the moon is underway
- 5 years ago
BEIJING, CHINA — Beijing's mission to the unexplored dark side of the moon got underway over the weekend.
China launched its Chang'e-4 lunar probe, which carries a lander and a rover, on Saturday. It is expected to be the first probe to ever make a landing on the far side of the moon. Beijing has not yet announced the official landing date of the probe. However, it is expected to land in early January 2019.
The lander would include a landing camera, terrain camera, and a low-frequency spectrometer, while the rover would include a panoramic camera and a visible and a near-Infrared imaging spectrometer, according to Space.com The probe would be able to send data back via the Chinese relay satellite "Queqiao," Xinhua reports
Potato, arabidopsis seeds and silkworm eggs will also be taken to the moon, according to Global Times. This will reportedly be to test if they are able to be grown in a low-gravity lunar environment.
China launched its Chang'e-4 lunar probe, which carries a lander and a rover, on Saturday. It is expected to be the first probe to ever make a landing on the far side of the moon. Beijing has not yet announced the official landing date of the probe. However, it is expected to land in early January 2019.
The lander would include a landing camera, terrain camera, and a low-frequency spectrometer, while the rover would include a panoramic camera and a visible and a near-Infrared imaging spectrometer, according to Space.com The probe would be able to send data back via the Chinese relay satellite "Queqiao," Xinhua reports
Potato, arabidopsis seeds and silkworm eggs will also be taken to the moon, according to Global Times. This will reportedly be to test if they are able to be grown in a low-gravity lunar environment.