Chang’e-4 Probe & Rover Takes Color Photos on Moon’s Far Side

CLEP – China Lunar Exploration Program logo.

Jan. 14, 2019

China’s Chang’e-4 probe took color photos on the lunar surface after it successfully made the first ever soft-landing on the far side of the moon.

The China National Space Administration (CNSA) Friday released the 360-degree panoramic photos taken by a camera installed on the top of the lander (see related article: Unpublished 360° picture of the hidden side of the Moon, link bellow).

Chang’e-4 probe

The images were sent back via the relay satellite Queqiao, which was operating around the second Lagrangian point of the earth-moon system, about 455,000 km from the earth, where it can see both the earth and the moon’s far side.

Scientists have made a preliminary analysis on the terrains and landform surrounding the probe according to the color pictures.

Chang’e-4 probe touched down on the Von Karman Crater in the South Pole-Aitken Basin in the morning of Jan. 3, and the lunar rover Yutu-2 drove onto the lunar surface late that night.

Lunar rover Yutu-2

Then the rover took a “nap” as the solar radiation raised the temperature on the lunar surface to over 100 degrees centigrade. It restarted to work on the moon.

The lander, the rover and the relay satellite are in good condition, said CNSA.

Related article & links:

Unpublished 360° picture of the hidden side of the Moon
https://orbiterchspacenews.blogspot.com/2019/01/unpublished-360-picture-of-hidden-side.html

China’s Yutu-2 rover Enters Standby Mode for ‘Noon Nap’ as Chang’e 4 Tests Continue
https://orbiterchspacenews.blogspot.com/2019/01/chinas-yutu-2-rover-enters-standby-mode.html

“Small step for the rover, big step for China”
https://orbiterchspacenews.blogspot.com/2019/01/small-step-for-rover-big-step-for-china.html

For more information about China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation (CASC), visit: http://english.spacechina.com/n16421/index.html

For more information about China National Space Administration (CNSA), visit: http://www.cnsa.gov.cn/

Images, Text, Credits: CASC/CNSA/CLEP.

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