All systems were go as a Chinese spacecraft and rover powered up their observation equipment after making a first-ever landing on the far side of the moon, the Chinese National Space Administration said.
The Jade Rabbit 2 rover has succeeded in establishing a digital transmission link with a relay satellite that sends data back to the Beijing control center, the space agency said on its Web site late on Friday, adding that the rover’s radar and panoramic camera have been activated and are working normally.
A photograph released by the agency showed the rover stopped at a point not far from where the Chang’e 4 spacecraft touched down on Thursday.
Photo: Reuters
Chang’e 4, named after Chinese goddess of the moon Chang E (嫦娥), is the first craft to make a soft landing on the moon’s far side, which faces away from Earth. Previous landings, including one by China’s Chang’e 3 in 2013, have been on the near side.
After sending the rover off from a ramp, the spacecraft deployed three 5m low-frequency radio antennae, the space agency said.
Chang’e 4 has also sent back images that it took with a topographical camera.
Photo: EPA-EFE
Researchers hope that low-frequency observations of the cosmos from the far side, where radio signals from Earth are blocked by the moon, will help scientists learn more about the early days of the solar system and even the birth of the universe’s first stars.
However, Harvard University astronomer Avi Loeb said that the relay satellite needed to send back information from the far side also contaminates the sky.
“As long as we keep it clean of radio interference, the far side of the moon is very good for radio astronomy,” he said.
The far side has been observed many times from lunar orbits, but never explored on the surface. It is popularly called the “dark side” because it cannot be seen from Earth and is relatively unknown, not because it lacks sunlight.
“It’s just the far side, it can be either dark or light,” depending on the time of day, Loeb said.
The pioneering landing highlights China’s ambitions to rival the US, Russia and Europe in space. China’s space community and public have taken pride in the accomplishment, with some drawing comparisons to the US.
China’s space program lags behind NASA, but has made great strides over the past 15 years, including by launching successful passenger flights and a space laboratory that is seen as a precursor to plans for a space station.
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