Astronomy:Chang'e 6

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Short description: Planned Chinese lunar sample-return mission
Chang'e 6
Chang-e-5-Descender-Lander-assembly-CG-2.jpg
Chang'e 5/6 lander and ascender on the Moon (artist's impression)
Mission typeSurface sample return
OperatorCNSA
Mission duration~53 days
Spacecraft properties
ManufacturerCAST
Launch mass8,200 kg (18,100 lb)[1]
Start of mission
Launch dateFirst half of 2024 (announced). May 2024 (expected).[2]
RocketLong March 5
Launch siteWenchang
Moon lander
Landing siteSouthern edge of Apollo Basin
[ ⚑ ] 43°00′S 154°00′W / 43.0°S 154.0°W / -43.0; -154.0[3]
 

Chang'e 6 (Chinese: 嫦娥六号; pinyin: Cháng'é liùhào) is a planned robotic China lunar exploration mission that has been officially announced for the first half of 2024 and is expected to launch around May 2024. It will attempt China's second sample return mission.[2] The mission will attempt to obtain the first-ever soil and rock samples from the lunar far side and return it to the Earth; the primary phase of the mission is expected to last about 53 days.[2] Like its predecessors, the spacecraft is named after the Chinese moon goddess Chang'e.

Overview

The Chinese Lunar Exploration Program is designed to be conducted in four[4] phases of incremental technological advancement: The goal of the first phase is to reach lunar orbit, this was completed by Chang'e 1 in 2007 and by Chang'e 2 in 2010. The second phase seeks to land and rove on the Moon, a feat that was accomplished by Chang'e 3 in 2013 and by Chang'e 4 in 2019. The third phase involves the collection of lunar samples and sending them to Earth, first completed by Chang'e 5 in 2020 and planned for the Chang'e 6 mission. The fourth phase consists of the development of a robotic research station near the Moon's south pole.[4][5][6] The program aims to facilitate crewed lunar landings in the 2030s and possibly build a crewed outpost near the lunar south pole.[7]

Unlike the Chang'e 5 mission which returned in excess of 1.73 kilograms of material from the northern hemisphere of the lunar near side, the Chang'e 6 mission will attempt to land and return material from the southern hemisphere of the lunar far side. Specifically, the landing segment of the Chang'e 6 mission will target the southern portion of the Apollo crater which itself lies within the larger South Pole-Aitkin (SPA) impact basin on the lunar far side; it is hoped that samples collected from the target area may include lunar mantle material ejected by the original impact that created the SPA basin. The mission's lander will endeavor to collect up to two kilograms of lunar far-side material including surface soil and rocks (using a scoop) and subsurface samples (using a drill).[2]

Mission architecture

Chang'e 6 was built as a copy and backup of Chang'e 5.[8] The mission is reported to consist of four modules: the lander will collect about 2 kg (4.4 lb) of samples from 2 metres (6.6 ft) below the surface[9] and place them in an attached ascent vehicle to be launched into lunar orbit. The ascent vehicle will then make a fully autonomous and robotic rendezvous and dock with an orbiter where the samples will be robotically transferred into a sample-return capsule for their delivery to Earth.[10][11] The estimated launch mass is 8,200 kg (18,100 lb)—the lander is projected to be 3,200 kg (7,100 lb) and the ascent vehicle is about 700 kg (1,500 lb).[1][10][12]

Science payloads

In October 2018, Chinese officials announced that they will call for international partners to propose an additional payload up to 10 kg (22 lb) to be included in this mission.[13] In November 2022 it was announced that the mission would carry payloads from four international partners:[14]

  • a French instrument called DORN (Detection of Outgassing Radon) to study the transport of lunar dust and other volatiles between the lunar regolith and the lunar exosphere, including the water cycle;[15]
  • an Italian instrument called INRRI (INstrument for landing-Roving laser Retroreflector Investigations) consisting in a passive laser retro-reflector to be used for laser range-finding of the lander, similar to those used on the Schiaparelli and InSight missions;
  • the Swedish NILS (Negative Ions on Lunar Surface), an instrument to detect and measure negative ions reflected by the lunar surface;[16]
  • the Pakistani ICECUBE-Q cubesat, to detect ice traces on the lunar surface.

Launch

The probe is expected to be launched by a Long March 5 rocket around May 2024, from Wenchang Satellite Launch Center on Hainan Island. CNSA has announced it for the first half of 2024.[2]

See also

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 Chang'e 5 and Chang'e 6. Gunter Dirk Krebs, Gunter's Space Page. Accessed on 9 January 2019.
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 Jones, Andrew (10 January 2024). "China's Chang'e-6 probe arrives at spaceport for first-ever lunar far side sample mission". SpaceNews. https://spacenews.com/chinas-change-6-probe-arrives-at-spaceport-for-first-ever-lunar-far-side-sample-mission/. 
  3. ↑ "大陸「嫦娥六號」明年5月發射 擬帶回月球背面岩石採樣" (in zh-hant). 聯合報. 2023-04-25. https://udn.com/news/amp/story/7333/7122039. Retrieved 2023-04-25. 
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 Chang'e 4 press conference. CNSA, broadcast on 14 January 2019.
  5. ↑ China's Planning for Deep Space Exploration and Lunar Exploration before 2030. (PDF) XU Lin, ZOU Yongliao, JIA Yingzhuo. Space Sci., 2018, 38(5): 591–592. doi:10.11728/cjss2018.05.591
  6. ↑ A Tentative Plan of China to Establish a Lunar Research Station in the Next Ten Years. Zou, Yongliao; Xu, Lin; Jia, Yingzhuo. 42nd COSPAR Scientific Assembly. Held 14–22 July 2018, in Pasadena, California, USA, Abstract id. B3.1-34-18.
  7. ↑ China lays out its ambitions to colonize the moon and build a "lunar palace". Echo Huang, Quartz. 26 April 2018.
  8. ↑ "Apollo 13 Crew". https://airandspace.si.edu/explore-and-learn/topics/apollo/apollo-program/landing-missions/apollo13-crew.cfm. 
  9. ↑ "China confirms landing site for Chang'e-5 Moon sample return". GB Times. 7 June 2017. https://gbtimes.com/china-confirms-landing-site-change-5-moon-sample-return. 
  10. ↑ 10.0 10.1 Future Chinese Lunar Missions. David R. Williams, NASA Goddard Space Flight Center. Accessed on 30 November 2018.
  11. ↑ "Chang'e 5 test mission". Spaceflight101.com. 2017. http://spaceflight101.com/change/change-5-test-mission/. 
  12. ↑ China well prepared to launch Chang e-5 lunar probe in 2017: top scientist. China Academy of Space Technology (CAST). 25 October 2016.
  13. ↑ China invites international cooperation in Chang'e-6 Moon sample return mission . Andrew Jones, "GB Times". 1 October 2018.
  14. ↑ CNSA Watcher [@CNSAWatcher] (25 November 2022). "On Nov 24, CNSA confirmed Chang’e 6 lunar landing mission will launch in 2025. Countries participating: China, EU, Italy, France, Sweden Pakistan. Also confirmed by CNSA: “hopper” probes will explore shadowed craters for iced water in Chang’e 7 & 8.". https://twitter.com/CNSAWatcher/status/1596048713280933888. 
  15. ↑ "State visit of President Macron to China - In 2023, Chang'e 6 will deploy the French DORN instrument on the Moon to study the lunar exosphere". CNES. 6 November 2019. https://presse.cnes.fr/en/state-visit-president-macron-china-2023-change-6-will-deploy-french-dorn-instrument-moon-study-lunar. 
  16. ↑ Canu-Blot, Romain; Wieser, Martin; Barabash, Stash (23 September 2022). "The Negative Ions at the Lunar Surface (NILS): first dedicated negative ion instrument on the Chang'E-6 mission to the Moon.". 16th Europlanet Science Congress 2022. doi:10.5194/epsc2022-992. Bibcode: 2022EPSC...16..992C. 

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