China's moon rover leaves traces on lunar soil

This image taken from video, shows China's first moon rover touching the lunar surface and leaving deep traces on its loose soil on Sunday, Dec. 15, 2013, several hours after the country successfully carried out the world's first soft landing of a space probe on the moon in nearly four decades. The 300-pound "Jade Rabbit" rover separated from the much larger landing vehicle early Sunday, around seven hours after the unmanned Chang'e 3 space probe touched down on a fairly flat, Earth-facing part of the moon. The writing at the top of the image reads "Surveillance camera C image." (AP Photo/CCTV VNR via AP video)

China's first moon rover has touched the lunar surface and left deep traces on its loose soil, state media reported Sunday, several hours after the country successfully carried out the world's first soft landing of a space probe on the moon in nearly four decades.

The 140-kilogram (300-pound) "Jade Rabbit" rover separated from the much larger landing vehicle early Sunday, around seven hours after the unmanned Chang'e 3 space probe touched down on a fairly flat, Earth-facing part of the moon.

State broadcaster China Central Television showed images taken from the lander's camera of the rover and its shadow moving down a sloping ladder and touching the surface, setting off applause in the Beijing control center. It said the lander and rover, both bearing Chinese flags, will take photos of each other Sunday evening.

Later, the six-wheeled rover will survey the moon's geological structure and surface and look for natural resources for three months, while the lander will carry out scientific explorations at the landing site for one year.

The mission marks the next stage in an ambitious space program that aims to eventually put a Chinese astronaut on the moon. China's space program is an enormous source of pride for the country, the third to carry out a lunar soft landing—which does not damage the craft and the equipment it carries—after the United States and the former Soviet Union. The last one was by the Soviet Union in 1976.

This Saturday Dec. 14, 2013 photo released by China's Xinhua News Agency, shows a picture of the moon surface taken by the on-board camera of the lunar probe Chang'e-3 on the screen of the Beijing Aerospace Control Center in Beijing, capital of China. China on Saturday successfully carried out the world's first soft landing of a space probe on the moon in nearly four decades, the next stage in an ambitious space program that aims to eventually put a Chinese astronaut on the moon. (AP Photo/Xinhua, Wang Jianmin) NO SALES

"It's still a significant technological challenge to land on another world," said Peter Bond, consultant editor for Jane's Space Systems and Industry. "Especially somewhere like the moon, which doesn't have an atmosphere so you can't use parachutes or anything like that. You have to use rocket motors for the descent and you have to make sure you go down at the right angle and the right rate of descent and you don't end up in a crater on top of a large rock."

On Saturday evening, CCTV showed a computer-generated image of the Chang'e 3 lander's path as it approached the surface of the moon, saying that during the landing period it needed to have no contact with Earth. As it was just hundreds of meters (yards) away, the lander's camera broadcast images of the moon's surface.

The Chang'e 3's solar panels, which are used to absorb sunlight to generate power, opened soon after the landing.

The mission blasted off from southwest China on Dec. 2 on a Long March-3B carrier rocket. It is named after a mythical Chinese goddess of the moon and the "Yutu" rover, or "Jade Rabbit" in English, is the goddess' pet.

China's military-backed space program has made methodical progress in a relatively short time, although it lags far behind the United States and Russia in technology and experience.

China sent its first astronaut into space in 2003, becoming the third nation after Russia and the United States to achieve manned space travel independently. In 2006, it sent its first probe to the moon. China plans to open a space station around 2020 and send an astronaut to the moon after that.

"They are taking their time with getting to know about how to fly humans into space, how to build space stations ... how to explore the solar system, especially the moon and Mars," Bond said. "They are making good strides, and I think over the next 10-20 years they'll certainly be rivaling Russia and America in this area and maybe overtaking them in some areas."

Explore further:China successfully soft-lands probe on the moon

© 2013 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.

More from Physics Forums - General Astronomy

Related Stories

China successfully soft-lands probe on the moon

17 hours ago

China on Saturday successfully carried out the world's first soft landing of a space probe on the moon in nearly four decades, state media said, the next stage in an ambitious space program that aims to eventually ...

China's first lunar rover to land on moon Saturday

Dec 13, 2013

A space module carrying China's first lunar rover is scheduled to land on the moon Saturday, authorities said Friday, describing the manouevre as the mission's greatest challenge.

China moon rover enters lunar orbit

Dec 06, 2013

China's first lunar rover entered the moon's orbit on Friday, state media reported, a key step towards the vessel's planned landing later this month.

China prepares for first lunar rover landing on the moon

23 hours ago

China will attempt to land a probe carrying the country's first lunar rover on the moon Saturday in a major breakthrough for its ambitious space programme.

China to send 'jade rabbit' to Moon: state media

Nov 26, 2013

China will launch its first ever moon rover early next month, state media said Tuesday, with the vehicle named "Jade Rabbit" in a nod to Chinese folklore.

Chang'e lunar probe boasts innovative camera pointing system

Dec 03, 2013

Following the launch of Chang'e-3 lunar probe in Xichang Satellite Launch Centre, the Camera Pointing System jointly developed by researchers of The Hong Kong Polytechnic University (PolyU) and China Academy ...

Recommended for you

Mining the moon is pie in the sky for China, experts say

1 hour ago

China's moon rover will survey for minerals on a dusty, barren crater named the Bay of Rainbows, but experts say there may be no pot of gold on the Earth's natural satellite.

China successfully soft-lands probe on the moon

19 hours ago

China on Saturday successfully carried out the world's first soft landing of a space probe on the moon in nearly four decades, state media said, the next stage in an ambitious space program that aims to eventually ...

Iran sends second monkey into space

Dec 14, 2013

Iran said on Saturday that it had safely returned a monkey to Earth after blasting it into space in the second such launch this year in its controversial ballistic programme.

China prepares for first lunar rover landing on the moon

Dec 14, 2013

China will attempt to land a probe carrying the country's first lunar rover on the moon Saturday in a major breakthrough for its ambitious space programme.

NASA mulls spacewalks to fix space station

Dec 13, 2013

A series of spacewalks might be necessary to fix a breakdown in the equipment cooling system aboard the International Space Station, NASA said Friday.

SpaceX to bid for rights to historic NASA launch pad

Dec 13, 2013

In a battle of technology titans for the right to lease a historic NASA launch pad in Florida, SpaceX has beat out competitor Blue Origin, the US space agency said Friday.

User comments : 4

Adjust slider to filter visible comments by rank

Display comments: newest first

not rated yet2 hours ago

Overtaking? Of cause. Plot the trendlines.

not rated yet1 hour ago

Now that China is on the lunar surface, lets hope they don't censor their pics and videos.Thanks

not rated yet49 minutes ago

Regardless, congratulations to China for achieving such a technically demanding and unforgiving undertaking. The appear to have pulled it off.

not rated yet5 minutes ago

Congratulations to China's space program. Where can we see more photos/videos? And is there a site with more info, like does it have batteries or some other source of energy to continue to function and stay warm through the lunar nights (14 earth-days of cold, last time I counted)? And what sensors/instruments are on board? I particularly like the subsurface radar probe. Will the rover be operating 24/7 during daylight?

More news stories

Mining the moon is pie in the sky for China, experts say

China's moon rover will survey for minerals on a dusty, barren crater named the Bay of Rainbows, but experts say there may be no pot of gold on the Earth's natural satellite.

China successfully soft-lands probe on the moon

China on Saturday successfully carried out the world's first soft landing of a space probe on the moon in nearly four decades, state media said, the next stage in an ambitious space program that aims to eventually ...

Bid to colonize Mars wins high-profile backing

A Dutch entrepreneur's bold quest to colonize Mars won high-profile support Tuesday from a US aerospace giant, although the timetable for putting humans on the red planet has been pushed back two years.

Swirls in remnants of big bang may hold clues to universe's infancy

South Pole Telescope scientists have detected for the first time a subtle distortion in the oldest light in the universe, which may help reveal secrets about the earliest moments in the universe's formation.

Astrophysicist suggests life may have existed shortly after Big Bang

(Phys.org) —Theoretical astrophysicist Abraham Loeb of Harvard University has uploaded a paper he's written to the preprint server arXiv, in which he suggests that conditions shortly after the Big Bang m ...

World's smallest Medtronic Micra pacemaker: Cardiac pacing game change?

(Medical Xpress)—Device maker Medtronic has accomplished a feat in device miniaturization, this time in the form of an implantable cardiac device the size of a large vitamin. Earlier this month, Minneapolis-based ...

World e-waste map reveals national volumes, international flows

By 2017, all of the year's end-of-life refrigerators, TVs, mobile phones, computers, monitors, e-toys and other products with a battery or electrical cord worldwide could fill a line of 40-ton trucks end-to-end on a highway ...

Agriculture the most promising market for drones

Idaho farmer Robert Blair isn't waiting around for federal aviation officials to work out rules for drones. He and a friend built their own, outfitting it with cameras and using it to monitor his 1,500 acres ...

Exercise counters the physiological effects of Christmas excess

Daily exercise lessens many of the harmful physiological effects of short-term overeating and inactivity, shows a new study [published 15 December] in The Journal of Physiology, which is well timed with the Christmas holida ...

Saudi Viber users say banned messenger is back

Saudi users of Internet messenger application Viber reported on Saturday that the service was back on their smartphones, despite the authorities insisting it was still banned.

© Phys.org™ 2003-2013, Science X network

This image taken from video, shows China's first moon rover touching the lunar surface and leaving deep traces on its loose soil on Sunday, Dec. 15, 2013, several hours after the country successfully carried out the world's first soft landing of a space probe on the moon in nearly four decades. The 300-pound "Jade Rabbit" rover separated from the much larger landing vehicle early Sunday, around seven hours after the unmanned Chang'e 3 space probe touched down on a fairly flat, Earth-facing part of the moon. The writing at the top of the image reads "Surveillance camera C image." (AP Photo/CCTV VNR via AP video)

China's first moon rover has touched the lunar surface and left deep traces on its loose soil, state media reported Sunday, several hours after the country successfully carried out the world's first soft landing of a space probe on the moon in nearly four decades.

The 140-kilogram (300-pound) "Jade Rabbit" rover separated from the much larger landing vehicle early Sunday, around seven hours after the unmanned Chang'e 3 space probe touched down on a fairly flat, Earth-facing part of the moon.

State broadcaster China Central Television showed images taken from the lander's camera of the rover and its shadow moving down a sloping ladder and touching the surface, setting off applause in the Beijing control center. It said the lander and rover, both bearing Chinese flags, will take photos of each other Sunday evening.

Later, the six-wheeled rover will survey the moon's geological structure and surface and look for natural resources for three months, while the lander will carry out scientific explorations at the landing site for one year.

The mission marks the next stage in an ambitious space program that aims to eventually put a Chinese astronaut on the moon. China's space program is an enormous source of pride for the country, the third to carry out a lunar soft landing—which does not damage the craft and the equipment it carries—after the United States and the former Soviet Union. The last one was by the Soviet Union in 1976.

This Saturday Dec. 14, 2013 photo released by China's Xinhua News Agency, shows a picture of the moon surface taken by the on-board camera of the lunar probe Chang'e-3 on the screen of the Beijing Aerospace Control Center in Beijing, capital of China. China on Saturday successfully carried out the world's first soft landing of a space probe on the moon in nearly four decades, the next stage in an ambitious space program that aims to eventually put a Chinese astronaut on the moon. (AP Photo/Xinhua, Wang Jianmin) NO SALES

"It's still a significant technological challenge to land on another world," said Peter Bond, consultant editor for Jane's Space Systems and Industry. "Especially somewhere like the moon, which doesn't have an atmosphere so you can't use parachutes or anything like that. You have to use rocket motors for the descent and you have to make sure you go down at the right angle and the right rate of descent and you don't end up in a crater on top of a large rock."

On Saturday evening, CCTV showed a computer-generated image of the Chang'e 3 lander's path as it approached the surface of the moon, saying that during the landing period it needed to have no contact with Earth. As it was just hundreds of meters (yards) away, the lander's camera broadcast images of the moon's surface.

The Chang'e 3's solar panels, which are used to absorb sunlight to generate power, opened soon after the landing.

The mission blasted off from southwest China on Dec. 2 on a Long March-3B carrier rocket. It is named after a mythical Chinese goddess of the moon and the "Yutu" rover, or "Jade Rabbit" in English, is the goddess' pet.

China's military-backed space program has made methodical progress in a relatively short time, although it lags far behind the United States and Russia in technology and experience.

China sent its first astronaut into space in 2003, becoming the third nation after Russia and the United States to achieve manned space travel independently. In 2006, it sent its first probe to the moon. China plans to open a space station around 2020 and send an astronaut to the moon after that.

"They are taking their time with getting to know about how to fly humans into space, how to build space stations ... how to explore the solar system, especially the moon and Mars," Bond said. "They are making good strides, and I think over the next 10-20 years they'll certainly be rivaling Russia and America in this area and maybe overtaking them in some areas."

Explore further:China successfully soft-lands probe on the moon

© 2013 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.

More from Physics Forums - General Astronomy

Related Stories

China successfully soft-lands probe on the moon

17 hours ago

China on Saturday successfully carried out the world's first soft landing of a space probe on the moon in nearly four decades, state media said, the next stage in an ambitious space program that aims to eventually ...

China's first lunar rover to land on moon Saturday

Dec 13, 2013

A space module carrying China's first lunar rover is scheduled to land on the moon Saturday, authorities said Friday, describing the manouevre as the mission's greatest challenge.

China moon rover enters lunar orbit

Dec 06, 2013

China's first lunar rover entered the moon's orbit on Friday, state media reported, a key step towards the vessel's planned landing later this month.

China prepares for first lunar rover landing on the moon

23 hours ago

China will attempt to land a probe carrying the country's first lunar rover on the moon Saturday in a major breakthrough for its ambitious space programme.

China to send 'jade rabbit' to Moon: state media

Nov 26, 2013

China will launch its first ever moon rover early next month, state media said Tuesday, with the vehicle named "Jade Rabbit" in a nod to Chinese folklore.

Chang'e lunar probe boasts innovative camera pointing system

Dec 03, 2013

Following the launch of Chang'e-3 lunar probe in Xichang Satellite Launch Centre, the Camera Pointing System jointly developed by researchers of The Hong Kong Polytechnic University (PolyU) and China Academy ...

Recommended for you

Mining the moon is pie in the sky for China, experts say

1 hour ago

China's moon rover will survey for minerals on a dusty, barren crater named the Bay of Rainbows, but experts say there may be no pot of gold on the Earth's natural satellite.

China successfully soft-lands probe on the moon

19 hours ago

China on Saturday successfully carried out the world's first soft landing of a space probe on the moon in nearly four decades, state media said, the next stage in an ambitious space program that aims to eventually ...

Iran sends second monkey into space

Dec 14, 2013

Iran said on Saturday that it had safely returned a monkey to Earth after blasting it into space in the second such launch this year in its controversial ballistic programme.

China prepares for first lunar rover landing on the moon

Dec 14, 2013

China will attempt to land a probe carrying the country's first lunar rover on the moon Saturday in a major breakthrough for its ambitious space programme.

NASA mulls spacewalks to fix space station

Dec 13, 2013

A series of spacewalks might be necessary to fix a breakdown in the equipment cooling system aboard the International Space Station, NASA said Friday.

SpaceX to bid for rights to historic NASA launch pad

Dec 13, 2013

In a battle of technology titans for the right to lease a historic NASA launch pad in Florida, SpaceX has beat out competitor Blue Origin, the US space agency said Friday.

User comments : 4

Adjust slider to filter visible comments by rank

Display comments: newest first

not rated yet2 hours ago

Overtaking? Of cause. Plot the trendlines.

not rated yet1 hour ago

Now that China is on the lunar surface, lets hope they don't censor their pics and videos.Thanks

not rated yet49 minutes ago

How many years until we see violence from factions securing and defending mineral resources on the moon, will it be in my lifetime? I'm about 50yrs old now, and expect too see another 40 or so.

Regardless, congratulations to China for achieving such a technically demanding and unforgiving undertaking. The appear to have pulled it off.

not rated yet5 minutes ago

Congratulations to China's space program. Where can we see more photos/videos? And is there a site with more info, like does it have batteries or some other source of energy to continue to function and stay warm through the lunar nights (14 earth-days of cold, last time I counted)? And what sensors/instruments are on board? I particularly like the subsurface radar probe. Will the rover be operating 24/7 during daylight?

More news stories

Mining the moon is pie in the sky for China, experts say

China's moon rover will survey for minerals on a dusty, barren crater named the Bay of Rainbows, but experts say there may be no pot of gold on the Earth's natural satellite.

China successfully soft-lands probe on the moon

China on Saturday successfully carried out the world's first soft landing of a space probe on the moon in nearly four decades, state media said, the next stage in an ambitious space program that aims to eventually ...

Bid to colonize Mars wins high-profile backing

A Dutch entrepreneur's bold quest to colonize Mars won high-profile support Tuesday from a US aerospace giant, although the timetable for putting humans on the red planet has been pushed back two years.

Swirls in remnants of big bang may hold clues to universe's infancy

South Pole Telescope scientists have detected for the first time a subtle distortion in the oldest light in the universe, which may help reveal secrets about the earliest moments in the universe's formation.

Astrophysicist suggests life may have existed shortly after Big Bang

(Phys.org) —Theoretical astrophysicist Abraham Loeb of Harvard University has uploaded a paper he's written to the preprint server arXiv, in which he suggests that conditions shortly after the Big Bang m ...

World's smallest Medtronic Micra pacemaker: Cardiac pacing game change?

(Medical Xpress)—Device maker Medtronic has accomplished a feat in device miniaturization, this time in the form of an implantable cardiac device the size of a large vitamin. Earlier this month, Minneapolis-based ...

World e-waste map reveals national volumes, international flows

By 2017, all of the year's end-of-life refrigerators, TVs, mobile phones, computers, monitors, e-toys and other products with a battery or electrical cord worldwide could fill a line of 40-ton trucks end-to-end on a highway ...

Agriculture the most promising market for drones

Idaho farmer Robert Blair isn't waiting around for federal aviation officials to work out rules for drones. He and a friend built their own, outfitting it with cameras and using it to monitor his 1,500 acres ...

Exercise counters the physiological effects of Christmas excess

Daily exercise lessens many of the harmful physiological effects of short-term overeating and inactivity, shows a new study [published 15 December] in The Journal of Physiology, which is well timed with the Christmas holida ...

Saudi Viber users say banned messenger is back

Saudi users of Internet messenger application Viber reported on Saturday that the service was back on their smartphones, despite the authorities insisting it was still banned.

© Phys.org™ 2003-2013, Science X network