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LANDING SITEVon Karman crater
LAT-45.46°
LON177.60°
MOON
ACTIVE
Jan 3, 2019
LANDING DATE
2019
6+ years and counting
MISSION DURATION
AND COUNTING
-190 to 127 C
SURFACE TEMP
AT LANDING SITE
3,780
KG
MASS
8
INSTRUMENTS
SCIENTIFIC PAYLOAD
Chang’e 4 is a lander mission by CNSA on Moon. Landed January 3, 2019. Landing site: Von Karman crater.
ABOUT CHANG’E 4
Chang’e 4 achieved the first-ever landing on the far side of the Moon, touching down inside Von Karman crater in the South Pole-Aitken Basin on January 3, 2019. Because the far side never faces Earth, all communications are relayed through the Queqiao satellite positioned at the Earth-Moon L2 Lagrange point. The Yutu-2 rover has detected material that may originate from the lunar mantle, brought to the surface by the ancient SPA impact. Chang’e 4 also sprouted the first seeds on the Moon — cotton plants in a miniature biosphere experiment.
KEY DISCOVERIES
- Detected material from lunar mantle at Von Karman crater
- Measured cosmic radiation on far side u2014 2.6x higher than ISS
- Yutu-2 has traveled over 1.5 km on the far side
- Subsurface structure revealed by ground-penetrating radar
TECHNOLOGY & FIRSTS
- First spacecraft to land on the far side of the Moon
- Required Queqiao relay satellite at L2 for communications
- Yutu-2 became longest-operating lunar rover
- First seeds sprouted on the Moon (cotton, in biosphere experiment)
SCIENTIFIC INSTRUMENTS (8)
Landing Camera
Terrain Camera
Low Frequency Spectrometer
Lunar Lander Neutrons & Dosimetry (German)
Panoramic Camera (Yutu-2)
Lunar Penetrating Radar (Yutu-2)
VIS/NIR Imaging Spectrometer (Yutu-2)
Advanced Small Analyzer for Neutrals (Swedish, Yutu-2)
SPACECRAFT SPECIFICATIONS
Mass3,780 kg (8,335 lbs)
PowerSolar panels + Radioisotope heater unit
CommunicationsVia Queqiao relay satellite at Earth-Moon L2
Design Life1 year (lander), 3 months (Yutu-2 rover)
Landing DateJanuary 3, 2019
ProgramChinese Lunar Exploration
SURFACE DATA
Surface Temperature-190 to 127 C
OTHER MOON LANDERS