What was Chang'e 4 and why was it historically significant?
Chang'e 4 is a Chinese robotic spacecraft mission that made the first-ever soft landing on the far side of the Moon on the 3rd of January 2019. No spacecraft had previously landed on that hemisphere because radio communications are blocked by the lunar body, requiring a dedicated relay satellite to make the mission possible.
Where exactly did Chang'e 4 land on the Moon?
Chang'e 4 landed in the Von Karman crater, a 180 km-wide impact site within the South Pole-Aitken Basin on the lunar far side, at coordinates 177.5991 degrees east, 45.4446 degrees south, at an elevation of minus 5,935 m. The landing site was later named Statio Tianhe in February 2019.
What is the Queqiao satellite and why was it needed for Chang'e 4?
Queqiao is a communications relay satellite launched on the 20th of May 2018 to a halo orbit about 65,000 km from the Moon at the Earth-Moon L2 point. Because the Moon blocks direct radio contact with its far side, Queqiao relays signals between the lander and rover on the surface and mission controllers on Earth. It was the first relay satellite placed at that location.
What did the Chang'e 4 biological experiment find on the Moon?
On the 15th of January 2019, it was reported that cottonseed, rapeseed, and potato seeds had sprouted inside the Lunar Micro Ecosystem container aboard the lander, marking the first plants ever to grow on the Moon. The experiment was ended the following day after the lunar night drove external temperatures to minus 52 degrees Celsius and the container's heating system could not sustain the seedlings.
How long did the Yutu-2 rover operate on the Moon?
Yutu-2 surpassed its nominal three-month operating period and on the 21st of November 2019 broke the lunar longevity record of 322 Earth days previously held by the Soviet Lunokhod 1 rover, which operated from the 17th of November 1970 to the 4th of October 1971. Chinese engineers had improved the rover's design based on experience with the original Yutu rover from 2013.
What awards did the Chang'e 4 mission team receive?
In November 2019, the Chang'e 4 team was awarded the Gold Medal by the Royal Aeronautical Society, and in October 2020 the International Astronautical Federation presented the team with the World Space Award. Both were firsts for a Chinese space mission.