China Heads Back to the Moon on Friday
China’s ambitious lunar program will take a big step forward this week as the Asian nation launches the first ever attempt to retrieve soil samples from the lunar far side.
A Long March 5 booster is set to launch the Chang’e 6 mission on Friday, May 3. The goal of the mission is to collect 2,000 g (4.4 lb) from the southern area of the Apollo basin in the southern polar region.
Chang’e 6 lander will touch down on the moon, collect soil samples using a scoop and a drill, and transfer them to an ascent capsule that will lift off and dock with the Chang’e 6 orbiter. Once the samples are transferred, the spacecraft will travel back to Earth and release a return capsule that will land under parachute.
The primary mission is expected to last 53 days from launch to recovery of the return capsule. The mission is similar to Chang’e 5, which returned 1,731 g (3.8 lb) of soil from the lunar far side in December 2020.
Chang’e 6’s lander includes three payloads from Europe, including:
Detecting of Outgassing Radon (DORN), a French instrument that will measure radon levels at the surface and the transport of lunar dust and other volatiles;
Negative Ions on the Lunar Surface (NILS), a Swedish instrument that will measure negative ions reflected by the lunar surface; and
INstrument for landing-Roving laser Retroreflector Investigations (INRRI), an Italian payload that will be used for laser range-finding of the lander.
The Chang’e 6 mission also includes Pakistan ICUBE-Q lunar orbiter, which is designed to detect ice traces on the lunar surface. ICUBE-Q is a collaboration of Pakistan’s Space & Upper Atmosphere Research Commission, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, and the Asia-Pacific Space Cooperation Organization.
The Queqiao-2 relay satellite will relay signals from the lander on the far side. A Long March 8 rocket launched the spacecraft on March 20.
Upcoming Launches
The German company HyImpulse is set to conduct the maiden flight test of its SR75 suborbital launch vehicle on Thursday, May 2, from the Koonibba Test Range in Australia. SR75 is powered by a hybrid motor with paraffin and liquid oxygen. The booster is designed to loft 250 kg (551 lb) to an altitude of 200 km (124.3 miles).
The launch is designed to demonstrate technology for HyImpulse’s SL1 small satellite launcher, which is being designed to place 600 kg into low Earth orbit. The rocket will be powered by a cluster of 10 SR75 motors.
Upcoming Launches
May 1 — Falcon 9 — SpaceX — WorldView Legion 1, World View 2 — Maxar Technologies — Earth observation — Vandenberg – USA
May 1 — Falcon 9 — SpaceX — 23 Starlink — SpaceX — Communications — Cape Canaveral — USA
May 2 — SR75 — HyImpulse (Germany) — Suborbital flight test — Koonibba Test Range — Australia
May 3 — Long March 5 — China Aerospace and Technology Corporation — Wenchang — China
Chang'e 6 lunar lander — China National Space Administration
Chang'e 6 ascend module — China National Space Administration
Chang'e 6 orbiter — China National Space Administration
Chang'e 6 return capsule — China National Space Administration
ICECUBE-Q CubeSat lunar orbiter — Space & Upper Atmosphere Research Commission (Pakistan), Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Asia-Pacific Space Cooperation Organization
May 3 — Falcon 9 — SpaceX — 21 Starlink — SpaceX — Communications —Vandenberg — USA
SpaceX will launch Maxar Technologies’ WorldView Legion 1 and World View 2 Earth observation satellites on Wednesday, May 1, from Vandenberg Space Force Base in California. It will be the first of three dedicated Falcon 9 launches for Maxar’s Earth observation constellation.
SpaceX will also launch new batches of Starlink broadband satellites from Vandenberg and Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida. The company has launched 6,304 Starlink satellites since February 2018.
Recent Launches
China launched a new crew to the Tiangong space station last week. Shenzhou 18 carried astronauts Ye Guangfu, Li Cong, and Li Guangsu on a six-month mission aboard the orbital facility. They replace the Shenzhou 17 crew of Tang Hongbo, Tang Shengjie, and Jiang Xinlin, who are due to return to Earth this week.
Recent Launches
April 23 — Falcon 9 — SpaceX – 23 Starlink — SpaceX — Communications — Cape Canaveral — USA
April 23 — Electron — Rocket Lab — Advanced Composite Solar Sail System (ACS3), NeonSat-1) — NASA (ACS3), Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (NeonSat-1) — Solar sail (ACS3), Earth observation (NeonSat-1) — Mahia — New Zealand
April 25 — Long March 2F/G — China Aerospace and Technology Corporation — Shenzhou 18 — China Manned Space Administration — Tiangong crew — Jiuquan — China
April 27 — Falcon 9 — SpaceX — Galileo FOC FM25, Galileo FOC FM27 — European Space Agency — Navigation — Kennedy — USA
April 28 — Falcon 9 — SpaceX — 23 Starlink — SpaceX — Communications — Cape Canaveral — USA
SpaceX launched the Galileo FOM FM25 and Galileo FOM FM27 satellites for the European Space Agency (ESA). It was the first launch by SpaceX of satellites for the European navigation constellation.
The spacecraft were originally scheduled for launch aboard a Russian Soyuz booster from Europe’s Spaceport in French Guiana. Cooperation on Soyuz launches was suspended after the Russian invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. The satellites were shifted to Europe’s new Ariane 6 rocket, but delays with that booster forced ESA to turn to SpaceX.
Rocket Lab launched NASA’s Advanced Composite Solar Sail System (ACS 3) aboard an Electron rocket from Mahia in New Zealand. ACS 3 will test solar sail technology for small satellites. The booster also carried the South Korean NeonSat-1 Earth observation satellite.