中國推出新探測器英文文章
China launched a new probe to the moon in the early hours of Friday morning, a test-run for the Chang’e-5, which will land on the lunar surface in 2017 and bring samples back for scientific analysis.
The test probe will orbit the moon and return to Earth, with the main goal of testing out re-entry into the earth’s atmosphere.
After the success of the Chang’e-3 lunar probe and its unmanned lunar rover the Yutu to the moon in December 2013, China’s space ambitions have grown stronger.
"Since the launch of Chang’e-1 in 2007, each stage of China’s lunar program has encountered great difficulties; from orbiting, landing and returning to Earth, it requires a great deal of creativity in terms of the technology we used on the probe," Xichang Satellite Launch Center chief engineer Tao Zhongshan said.
Just a few hours before the launch, the pressure was on. Engineers at the command center needed to ensure a timely launch.
"Within the second of cosmic velocity, the re-entry speed could cause the return capsule to overheat or become difficult to track and control," Spacecraft Re-Entry Test Program vice-commander Zhang Gao said. "None of China’s spacecraft have ever re-entered the atmosphere so fast, and no simulation test on earth can recreate the challenge."
As the spacecraft would need to be sent to a fixed location in space, even the slightest inaccuracy would render the spacecraft unable to enter the moon’s orbit nor return to Earth.
Eight days from now when the experimental spacecraft returns to Earth, this technology will be used on Chang’e-5 lunar probe, which is scheduled to launch in 2017. By then scientists around the world will benefit from the data collected from the moon via China’s lunar exploration program.
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