Now THATS a great leap forward: Chinese spacecraft makes first soft moon landing in 37 years |

Now THAT"S a great leap forward: Chinese spacecraft makes first "soft" moon landing in 37 yearsChang"e 3, named for a Chinese goddess, touched down tonightIt contains a lunar rover called "Yutu" or Jade RabbitChang"e 3 is the first such landing since the Soviet Union in 1976BySam WebbPUBLISHED: 19:54 GMT, 14 December 2013 | UPDATED: 22:55 GMT, 14 December 2013China has announced the first successful "soft" moon landing in 37 years after an unmanned craft successfully touched down.The China National Space Administration says the landing of lunar probe Chang"e-3, with the country"s first moon rover onboard, marks the first time that China has sent a spacecraft to soft land on the surface of an extraterrestrial body.It is the latest stage in an ambitious space programme that aims to eventually have a Chinese astronaut set foot on the moon.Scroll down for video

Descent: Footage taken by a camera on the bottom of Chang"e-3 lunar probe as it descends onto the surface of the moon today

Over the moon: Staff at the Beijing Aerospace Control Center celebrate the successful landingThe lunar probe began to carry out soft-landing on the moon at 9 p.m. China time and touched down in Sinus Iridum, or the Bay of Rainbows, 11 minutes later, according to Beijing Aerospace Control Center.More...We"re surrounded by SPACE JUNK: Incredible image reveals the disused rockets and abandoned satellites that orbit EarthCould there be life on Europa? Hubble spots 100-mile high jets of water shooting out from the surface of Jupiter"s icy moonJust right! Planet Earth gets an extra 850 million years before the oceans boil away after scientists expand "Goldilocks zone"During the process, the probe decelerated from 15km (nine miles) above the moon, stayed hovering at 100 yards from the lunar surface in order to use sensors to assess the landing area and avoid obstacles, and descended slowly onto the surface.

Launch: The December 2 launch of the carrier rocket, the vehicle for China"s first moon rover mission, blasting off after midnight in Xichang in southwest China"s Sichuan provinceThe success makes China the third country, after the United States and the Soviet Union, to soft-land (a powered, controlled descent) on the moon. The last soft-landing was carried out by the Soviet Union in 1976.The probe"s landing is the most difficult task during the mission, said Wu Weiren, the lunar program"s chief designer, according to the Xinhua news agency."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."State-run China Central Television showed a computer-generated image of the Chang"e 3 lander"s path as it approached the surface of the moon, explaining that for about a 12-minute landing period it would have no contact with Earth.As it was just hundreds of metres 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 Chang"e 3 will set up antennae to transmit pictures back to Earth.Chang"e-3 relied on automated systems for descent, range and velocity measurements, finding the proper landing point, and free-falling.

State-run China Central Television showed a computer-generated image of the Chang"e 3 lander"s path as it approached the surface of the moon

Tension: A giant electronic screen displays the mission operation information of China"s Chang"e-3 lunar probe as researchers work at the Beijing Aerospace Control Center

An animated image of the Chang"e-3 lunar probe descending onto the surface of the moon

Chang"e-3 includes a lander and a moon rover called "Yutu" or Jade Rabbit.Chang"e-3 adopted a variable thrust engine designed and made by Chinese scientists. Its thrust power ranges from 1,500 to 7,500 newtons, according to Wu Weiren.The soft-landing was carried out 12 days after the probe blasted off on an enhanced Long March-3B carrier rocket.CHINA"S SPACE PROGRAMMEChina"s military-backed space programme 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," said Peter Bond, consultant editor for Jane"s Space Systems and Industry."They are making good strides, and I think over the next 10, 20 years they"ll certainly be rivalling Russia and America in this area and maybe overtaking them in some areas."Chang"e-3 includes a lander and a moon rover called "Yutu" or Jade Rabbit.Yutu"s tasks include surveying the moon"s geological structure and surface substances and searching for natural resources. The lander will operate there for one year while the rover will be active for three months.Chang"e-3 is part of the second phase of China"s lunar programme, which includes orbiting, landing and returning to the Earth. It follows the success of the Chang"e-1 and Chang"e-2 missions in 2007 and 2010.Sun Huixian, deputy engineer-in-chief in charge of the project, said: "Compared to the last century"s space race between the United States and the former Soviet Union, mankind"s current return to the moon is more based on curiosity and exploration of the unknown universe.""China"s lunar program is an important component of mankind"s activities to explore peaceful use of space."The moon is one of the most important themes in Chinese literature and ancient myths, including one about Chang"e, a lady who took her pet "Yutu" to fly to the moon, where she became a goddess."Though people have discovered that the moon is bleached and desolate, it doesn"t change its splendid role in Chinese traditional culture," said Zhang Yiwu, a professor with Peking University."Apart from scientific exploration, the lunar probe is a response to China"s traditional culture and imagination. China"s lunar programme will proceed with the beautiful legends," Zhang said.

A computer-generated image shows the craft"s trajectory

The moon looms over the Forbidden City in Beijing. China has ambitious plans for space explorationOn Monday Iran announced that successfully sent a monkey into space for a second time, part of an ambitious programme aimed at manned space flight.Iran"s state TV said that the launch of the rocket dubbed Pajohesh, or Research in Farsi, was Iran"s first use of liquid fuel and reached a height of 120 kilometres (72 miles). It said the monkey, named Fargam or Auspicious, was returned to earth safely.The TV showed the rocket blasting off and then showed the monkey, strapped snugly into a seat, staring at people clapping to celebrate its safe return. The report said Fargam"s capsule parachuted safely to earth after detaching from the rocket in a mission that lasted 15 minutes.Iran frequently claims technological breakthroughs that are impossible to independently verify. The Islamic Republic has said it seeks to send an astronaut into space as part of an ambitious aerospace programme."The launch of Pajohesh is another long step getting the Islamic Republic of Iran closer to sending a man into space," the official IRNA news agency said.

Fargam, the monkey Iran claims it sent into space and then safely returned
推薦閱讀：