[meteorite-list] Chinese Moon Lander on the Verge of Launch

[Ron Baalke]

http://www.spaceflightnow.com/china/change3/131127change3/

Chinese moon lander on the verge of launch
BY STEPHEN CLARK
SPACEFLIGHT NOW
November 27, 2013

China has scheduled the launch of an ambitious robotic lunar rover as 
soon as Sunday on a quest to achieve the first soft landing on the moon 
in more than three decades.

The Chang'e 3 mission is China's third moon probe, following two successful 
orbiters that surveyed the lunar surface and mapped landing zones.

Chinese officials say the mission is set for launch in early December, 
with landing on the moon scheduled for mid-December. China has not officially 
disclosed the mission's launch or landing dates.

But an aeronautical notice issued to warn pilots of an impending launch 
indicates the solar-powered rover is set for liftoff Sunday shortly after 
1720 GMT (12:20 p.m. EST) from the Xichang space center in southwestern 
China's Sichuan province.

The launch will come in the middle of the night in China at approximately 
1:20 a.m. Beijing time.

A Long March 3B rocket will boost the probe on course toward the moon, 
where the spacecraft will enter orbit five days after launch before dropping 
to the lunar surface for landing some time in mid-December, according 
to Wu Zhijian, a spokesperson for China's State Administration of Science, 
Technology and Industry for National Defence, or SASTIND, which is managing 
the Chang'e 3 mission.

The mission is China's first try to land a spacecraft on the moon - or 
any other celestial body - and it marks a new phase in the country's exploration 
efforts, which include a lunar sample return mission before the end of 
the decade.

The lander reportedly weighs about 3,800 kilograms, or about 8,377 pounds, 
fully loaded with propellant. It's dimensions measure a bit larger than 
a sports utility vehicle.
 
The Chang'e 3 lander will descend from lunar orbit and use rocket engines 
to settle softly on the moon's surface in a region known as the Bay of 
Rainbows, or Sinus Iridum, on the upper-left part of the moon as viewed 
from Earth.

The Bay of Rainbows has never been explored by a moon lander before. The 
Chang'e 2 mission, China's second lunar orbiter, mapped the Bay of Rainbows 
in detail after its launch in October 2010.

Once the four-legged lander touches down, the mission's rover will drive 
onto the lunar surface on a ramp.

The rover has six wheels and has a mass of about 140 kilograms, or about 
308 pounds, according to Xinhua. It is powered by solar energy but carries 
radioisotope heater units to keep the rover warm on cold lunar nights, 
according to a paper written by researchers at the Beijing Institute of 
Spacecraft System Engineering and published in Science China.

Chinese officials announced Tuesday the rover is named "Yutu" after a 
campaign to solicit naming suggestions from the public. Yutu was the most 
popular submission, and it means "jade rabbit" in Chinese, Xinhua reported.

The Chang'e lunar program is named after the Chinese goddess of the moon, 
and Yutu the rabbit is her companion in Chinese mythology.