Chang'e 3 (Chinese: 嫦娥三号; pinyin: Cháng'é Sānhào) is a lunar exploration mission operated by the China National Space Administration (CNSA), incorporating a robotic lander and China's first lunar rover. It was launched in December 2013 as part of the second phase of the Chinese Lunar Exploration Program.
The spacecraft was named after Chang'e, the goddess of the Moon in Chinese mythology, and is a follow-up to the Chang'e 1 and Chang'e 2 lunar orbiters. The rover was named Yutu (Chinese: 玉兔; literally "Jade Rabbit") following an online poll, after the mythological rabbit that lives on the Moon as a pet of the Moon goddess.
Chang'e 3 achieved lunar orbit on 6 December 2013 and landed on 14 December 2013, becoming the first probe to soft-land on the Moon since Luna 24 in 1976.
Riding atop a modified Long March 3B rocket, China's Chang'e 3 moon lander and its rover Yutu toward the moon at 1:30 a.m. Monday (Dec. 2) local time from the Xichang Satellite Launch Center in the country's Sichuan province. It was 12:30 p.m. EST (1730 GMT) on Dec. 1 at launch time.
The probe on track, Chang'e 3 landed on the lunar surface mid-December, becoming the first spacecraft to touch down on the moon in more than 37 years. The moon landing mission was the former Soviet Union's robotic Luna 24 sample return mission in 1976
DATA Mission type Lander and rover Operator CNSA COSPAR ID 2013-070A SATCAT No. 39458 Mission duration Lander: 1 year Rover: 3 months
Spacecraft properties Manufacturer Shanghai Aerospace System Engineering Institute BOL mass 3,800 kg (8,400 lb) Landing mass 1,200 kg (2,600 lb) Rover: 120 kg (260 lb) Dimensions Rover: 1.5 m (4.9 ft) high
Start of mission Launch date 1 December 2013, 17:30 UTC Launch vehicle Long March 3B Y-23 Launch site Xichang Satellite Launch Centre
Lunar lander Landing date 14 December 2013, 13:11 UTC Landing Site Mare Imbrium Coordinates 44° 7? 12? N, 19° 30? 36? W (44.12°, -19.51°)
Landing site Mare Imbrium 44.12°N 19.51°
Map of the locations of all successful soft landings on the Moon to date. Dates are landing dates in UTC
The Chinese lunar orbiter Chang'e 1 executed a controlled crash onto the surface of the Moon on 1 March 2009. The rover mission Chang'e 3 was launched on December 1, 2013 and soft-landed on December 14th. (Chang'e 2 was launched in early October 2010 as a long-term mission with a lunar objective without landing.)
Title: China Launches "Jade Rabbit" First Moon Mission Published on 2 Dec 2013 Duration: 7:59 Code: http://youtu.be/TuX886ExJvI
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China successfully launched a lunar probe into space Monday morning, on a two-week journey to deliver a robotic rover to the surface of the moon. The mission marks China's first attempt at soft-landing a spacecraft on an extra-terrestrial body, and could benefit future plans to land Chinese astronauts on the moon.
A Long March rocket carrying the Chang'e 3 lunar lander blasted off at 1:30 a.m. local time Monday from southwest China's Xichang Satellite Launch Center, reported the official Xinhua News Agency.
"We will strive for our space dream as part of the Chinese dream of national rejuvenation,'' said the center's director, Zhang Zhenzhong. China's ruling Communist Party has used the military-backed, state-run space program to boost national pride and support for its policies.
By mid-December, Chang'e 3 aims to land on the moon's Bay of Rainbows, and unleash the six-wheeled, solar-powered Yutu, or Jade Rabbit, lunar rover to look for natural resources and conduct geological surveys for three months. China hopes to become the third nation, after the USA and the former Soviet Union, to achieve a difficult "soft landing" on the moon, whereby the spacecraft and equipment remain intact. An earlier Chinese orbiter made an intentional crash-landing on the moon.
The spacecraft, bearing China's red, five-starred flag, will become the first to visit the moon since the last Soviet unmanned mission there in 1976. One new feature is a ground-penetrating radar to measure the lunar soil and crust. The mission represents the second stage of China's slow but steady lunar program. In phase three, China will send another robotic probe to gather lunar samples, possibly by 2020. A manned mission could then follow.
