China’s Chang’e 4 spacecraft to try historic landing on far side of moon ‘between January 1 and 3’
- Smithsonian Institution in the US estimates time of world’s first attempt to soft-land on the moon’s lesser-known side
- Ground control in Beijing adjusts probe’s orbit and tests rover’s capabilities before the landing, Chinese space administration says
China’s lunar lander and rover spacecraft Chang’e 4 could make humankind’s first attempt to soft-land on the far side of the moon between Tuesday and Thursday, after entering a planned orbit on Sunday morning.
China’s space agency said its control centre in Beijing would choose a suitable time to try the landing, but the Smithsonian Institution, the American museums and research centres group, reported that the craft was expected to set down on the Von Kármán crater landing point between January 1 and 3.
The moon lander was launched at the Xichang Satellite Launch Centre in southern China on December 8 on a Long March 3B rocket and entered lunar orbit four days later.
The far side of the moon – also known as the dark side because it faces away from Earth – remains comparatively unknown, with a different composition from sites on the near side where previous missions have landed.
Soft-landing on the far side is challenging because any direct communication between the rover and Earth will be blocked by the other hemisphere.
To solve that problem, China launched a relay satellite, Queqiao, or Magpie Bridge, between Earth and the moon. Operating about 400,000km (250,000 miles) from Earth, Queqiao will pass on signals to the lunar lander and rover of Chang’e 4.