Chang'e 1 crashes on Moon: No worries, it was supposed to

William Atkins
Monday, 02 March 2009 19:39

Science - Space

In preparation for a future Chinese Moon landing by its astronauts, this mission was deemed a success by the Chinese government.

The Chinese are targeting for a second unmanned Moon mission, Chang’e 2 around 2010 to 2012.

It will be followed by another unmanned flight in the 2017 timeframe, which is expected to have a lunar rover collect soil and stone samples from the Moon’s surface and then return them to Earth for analysis.

They are expecting to launch their first manned mission to the Moon in 2020—which coincidently is the same year the United States is planning their first manned mission to the Moon in the twenty-first century, after being the only country to do so in the twentieth century.

The China Daily article “Chang'e I ends lunar mission with a bang” adds graphics and explanations about its descent from orbit and the crash of the Chinese space probe.

The Chang’e 1 probe crashed approximately 1.50 degrees south latitude and 52.36 degrees east longitude on the Moon.

Chang’e I was launched, as directed by the China National Space Administration (CNSA), on October 24, 2007, from the Xichang Satellite Launch Center with the use of a Long March 3-A rocket. It achieved lunar orbit on November 5, 2008.

Additional information, along with a video, comes from the Xinhua.com article “China's lunar probe Chang'e-1 impacts moon.”