China’s lunar probe had successfully soft-landed on the moon on Saturday making new space history.
The first lunar rover Chang’e-3 of the Chinese had set up itself from the unmanned spacecraft which landed on the Bay of Rainbows (Sinus Iridum). Dubbed as Jade Rabbit, the lunar rover is built with six wheels, four cameras and two mechanical legs.
The solar-dependent rover, which can dig up to a depth of 30 meters to get soil samples, will patrol the surface of the moon in order to study the structure of the moon’s crust as well as its rocks and soil for a period of three months at the least. Its name is a result of public online voting and originates from a Chinese myth that talks about the goddess’ white rabbit pet Chang’e which is believed to have lived on the moon.
The 140 kilograms rover moves slowly while carrying an optical telescope and a powerful ultraviolet camera to conduct astronomical observations and monitor solar activity respectively. It wanted to find out how the mentioned activity affects the Earth’s three layered atmosphere dubbed as troposphere, stratosphere, and ionosphere.
Moreover, the Jade Rabbit features radioisotope heater units which can come in handy during the freezing lunar nights when temperature fall as low as negative 180 degrees Celsius or negative 292 degrees Fahrenheit.
After the Soviet Union and the U.S, China’s moon exploration makes it one of the three countries to “soft-land” on the surface of the moon, and the first to have achieved such in more than three decades.
China has quickly built up its space exploration program after sending its first astronaut into space ten years ago. Based on the Pentagon’s report, China has conducted a total of 18 space launches.
Chang’e-3 forms part of China’s moon exploration program as it goes into its second phase that includes Earth orbiting, landing, and returning.
