China has taken a major step towards the first ever landing on the dark side of the moon.
China’s space Agency CNSA has launched a relay satellite named “Queqiao” (magpie bridge) to set up a communication link between the Earth and the country’s planned lunar probe Chang’e-4.
The satellite was carried by a Long March-4C rocket.
The launch is a key step for China to realize its goal of being the first country to send a probe to soft-land on and rove the Dark Side or far side of the moon.
The dak side of the moon is of great scientific interest, but landing there requires a relay satellite to transmit signals.
China’s spacecraft Chang’e-4 will attempt the mission of exploring the dark side of the Moon.
The Chang’e-4’s lander and rover will make a soft landing on the back side of the moon, and will carry out in-place and patrolling surveys
The dark side of the moon still remains mostly mysterious to us, facing away from Earth and being largely cut off from communications.
The far side of the moon is never visible to Earth because of gravitational forces and has never been explored by humans. China’s Chang’e-4 will be the first mission in human history to embark on this expedition.
Tidal forces of the Earth have slowed the Moon’s rotation to the point where the same side always faces the Earth, a phenomenon called tidal locking. The other face, most of which is never visible from Earth, is the far side or dark side of the Moon, not because it’s dark, but because most of it remains unknown.
With its special environment and complex geological history, the far side is a hot spot for scientific and space exploration.
Chinese scientists and engineers hope the Queqiao satellite will form a communication bridge between controllers on Earth and the far side of the Moon where the Chang’e-4 lunar probe is expected to touch down later this year.
And, China was studying the possibility of sending a man to the moon, as well as plans to send probes to Jupiter and its moons.
News Source: http://www.cnsa.gov.cn/n6443408/n6465652/n6465653/c6801574/content.html
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