1. Chang’e 4 Mission Chinese Lunar Exploration Program (CLEP)
The Chang’e Lunar Missions are an ongoing series of robotic Moon missions by the China National Space Administration (CNSA).
Chang’e 4 Mission is a combination of the Queqiao relay satellite, a Lander, and a Rover.
Chinese Lunar Exploration Program (CLEP)
Chang’e meaning
Next slide

2. The Queqiao Relay Satellite was launched ahead of Chang’e-4 Mission
Launch—May 20, 2018 from the Xichang Satellite Launch Center in Sichuan Province
Rocket—Long March 4C
rocket
Queqiao is in a halo orbit
around the Earth-Moon L2
point. A satellite in a halo
orbit around L2, which is
behind the Moon, will have a
view of both the Earth and the
far side of the Moon.
A rare image of the Queqiao relay satellite in the Chinese media
Earth-Moon L2 point
Queqiao meaning
Next slide

3. Chang’e 4 Mission: Mission Facts: Launched—December 7, 2018
Rocket—Chang Zheng 3B (Long March rocket)
Launch site—Xichang Satellite Launch Center, Sichuan Province
Lunar landing—January 3, 2019 on the far side of the Moon
Landing site– the Von Karman crater in the South Pole-Aitken Basin (1,600 mile/2,500 km diameter)
Next slide

4. Chang’e 4 Mission: Mission objectives:
While the orbiter will provide communications relay, the lander and rover will carry scientific payloads to study the geophysics of the landing zone
The lander will carry a container with seeds and insect eggs to test whether plants and insects could hatch and grow together
The lander will also carry international payloads from Sweden, Germany, the Netherlands and Saudi Arabia
Payload
Next slide

5. Chang’e 4 Mission:
The mission duration of the Lander (right) is 12 months.
The mission duration of the Rover (below) is 3 months.
The rover is named Yutu-2, the Jade Rabbit, which, according to Chinese folklore is a rabbit that lives on the Moon.
Yutu meaning
Next slide

6. On January 3, 2019, Chang'e 4 became the first craft ever to safely touch down on the Moon's far side, which forever faces away from Earth
(the Moon is "tidally locked" to our planet, so we only ever see the near side).
Nighttime on the far side of the Moon lasts 14 days with temperatures dipping to -297o F (-183o C).
Daytime on the far side of the Moon also lasts 14 days with temperatures reaching 260o F (127o C).
Next slide

7. Previous Chang’e Missions:
Future Chang’e Missions:
Chang’e 5
Chang’e 6
Click on IMAGE to learn more about that mission
Next slide

8. End of Show
Return to Slide 1

11. China's first unmanned missions to the Moon are named in honor of Chang'e, a Chinese goddess who legends say lives on the Moon and was befriended by Yutu, a White Rabbit.
Return

12. The Earth-Moon Lagrange point-2 is a gravitationally stable spot about 40,000 miles (64,000 kilometers) beyond the lunar far side.
Queqiao will relay commands and data between the Chang'e 4 Lander and Earth — this is a job the Lander and Rover can't do for themselves, since they are on the far side of the Moon….all that moon rock would get in the way.
Return

13. The name “Queqiao” – which translates to magpie bridge – is derived from a Chinese folktale, according to which the Milky Way separated Zhi Nv, the seventh daughter of the Goddess of Heaven from meeting her beloved husband, Niu Lang. They were allowed to meet once a year on the seventh night of the seventh month of the lunar calendar. So the magpies on that day grouped to make a bridge with their wings and helped the couple cross over and reach each other.
Return

14. Chang’e 4 Mission Scientific payload: Lander Rover
Lunar Dust Analyzer (LDA)
Electric Field Analyzer (EFA)
Plasma and Magnetic Field Observation Package (PMFOP)
Lunar Seismometer (LS), for internal structure
VLF Radio Interferometer (VRI), a type of radio telescope for astronomical observations[1]
Neutron dosimeter: Lunar Lander Neutron Dosimetry (LND) project developed by Kiel University in Germany
In addition, the lander will carry a container with seeds and insect eggs to test whether plants and insects could hatch and grow together
Rover
Panoramic camera
Ground-penetrating radar
Infrared spectrometer
Active Source Hammer (ASH) for active source seismic experiments
Energetic neutral atom analyzer: Advanced Small Analyzer for Neutrals (ASAN), provided by the Swedish Institute of Space Physics (IRF). It will reveal how solar wind interacts with the lunar surface and perhaps even the process behind the formation of lunar water.
Return

15. China's first unmanned missions to the Moon are named in honor of Chang'e, a Chinese goddess who legends say lives on the Moon and was befriended by Yutu, a White Rabbit.
Return

16. Chang’e 1 Mission Mission Facts: Launch—October 24, 2007
Rocket—Chang Zheng 3A (Long March rocket)
Launch site—Xichang LC-3, Sichuan Province
Orbital insertion—November 5, 2007
End of mission date—March 1, (impacted the surface of the Moon)
Mission objectives:
To obtain three-dimensional imagery of the lunar surface
To analyze the distribution of useful elements and materials on the lunar surface
To probe the features of lunar soil and assess its depth
To explore the space environment between the Moon and Earth and above the lunar surface
Return

17. Chang’e 2 Mission Mission Facts: Launch—October 1, 2010
Rocket—Chang Zheng 3C (Long March rocket)
Launch site—Xichang LC-2, Sichuan Province
Orbital insertion—October 6, 2010
Mission duration—planned 6 months; left lunar orbit June 8, 2011; mission on-going (2011 at Lagrange Point L2; 2012 flyby of asteroid 4179 Toutatis; now is conducting a long-term mission to verify China's deep-space tracking and control systems)
Mission objectives:
To obtain three-dimensional images of the lunar surface with a spatial resolution < 10 meters
To explore the composition of lunar surface material
To observe the Earth-Moon and near-moon space environment
Return

18. Chang’e 3 Mission Mission Facts: Launch—December 1, 2013
Rocket—Chang Zheng 3B (Long March rocket)
Launch site—Xichang LC-2, Sichuan Province
Lunar landing—December 14, 2013 (Mare Imbrium)
Status—Lander still transmitting as of June 2017
Rover Yutu (Jade Rabbit) stopped transmitting August 2016 after 31 months
Mission objectives:
To soft-land on the moon's surface and deploy an unmanned Lunar Rover to explore the areas surrounding the landing site
Carry scientific payloads that are going to be used to study the Moon, other galaxies and stars as well as the near-Earth space environment
Lunar surface topography and geology survey, lunar surface material composition and resource survey, Sun-Earth-Moon space environment detection, and lunar-based astronomical observation
Return

19. Chang’e 5 Mission Mission Facts: Launch—end of 2019
Rocket—Chang Zheng 5 (Long March rocket)
Launch site—Wenchang Launch Site, Hainan, China
Lunar landing—2019 (northwest area of the Moon in the Mons Rumker region)
Mission objectives:
To land in the Mons Rumker region and return a 2 kg sample of lunar regolith, possibly from as deep as 2 meters
Will consist of four modules: two will land on the Moon. One module is designed to collect samples and transfer them to the second module. The second module will ascend from the lunar surface into orbit, and dock with a third module, then transfer to the fourth module, also in lunar orbit. Fourth module will return samples to Earth
Instruments: Panoramic Camera (PCAM), Lunar Regolith Penetrating Radar (LRPR) and Lunar Mineralogical Spectrometer (LMS)
Return

20. Chang’e 6 Mission Mission Facts: Launch—2024
Rocket—Chang Zheng 5 (Long March rocket)
Launch site—Wenchang Launch Site, Hainan, China
Lunar landing—2024
Mission objectives:
Will be China’s second sample return mission
The mission is currently speculated to be under development
Return