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troutman · 11-27-2013, 02:09 PM

China may land rover on Moon December 16th . . .

Chang'e 3 may launch December 1 with Yutu rover, will not harm LADEE mission
http://www.planetary.org/blogs/emily...-change-3.html

Yesterday the Chinese space agency held a press briefing about the Chang'e 3 lunar lander. They announced that the rover has been named Yutu (or "Jade Rabbit," a legendary companion of the goddess Chang'e). Yutu was selected from a list of 10 names, receiving 649,956 votes out of nearly 3.5 million votes cast. In a written statement that I'm decoding with the help of Google Translate, they remark that the name Yutu embodies Chinese traditional culture and reflects their intent for peaceful use of space, and that they're looking forward to the rover rolling across the Bay of Rainbows. Chang'e 3 will launch on a Long March III B onto a direct lunar transfer orbit (an orbit with perigee 200 kilometers and apogee 380,000 kilometers).

Strangely, the press briefing did not include a mention of a specific launch date and time. Via NASAspaceflight.com I can convey a rumor that it may be launching December 1. The rumor comes from a member of the forum's personal communication with a friend who knows someone at the Xichang launch site, so I wouldn't set my watch by it, but I'll report it in case it turns out to be true:

The launch may take place on December 2, 2013 between 1 and 1:30 a.m. China standard time (December 1 at 9:00 PT / 17:00 UT), with lunar orbit insertion on December 6 at 10:30 (December 5 at 18:30 PT / December 6 at 2:30 UT), and landing on December 16. A subsequent post points to a 2008 paper that states that a landing on December 16 would occur at 12:36 UT.

11-27-2013, 02:09 PM	#126
troutman Unfrozen Caveman Lawyer Join Date: Oct 2002 Location: Crowsnest Pass Exp:	China may land rover on Moon December 16th . . . Chang'e 3 may launch December 1 with Yutu rover, will not harm LADEE mission http://www.planetary.org/blogs/emily...-change-3.html Yesterday the Chinese space agency held a press briefing about the Chang'e 3 lunar lander. They announced that the rover has been named Yutu (or "Jade Rabbit," a legendary companion of the goddess Chang'e). Yutu was selected from a list of 10 names, receiving 649,956 votes out of nearly 3.5 million votes cast. In a written statement that I'm decoding with the help of Google Translate, they remark that the name Yutu embodies Chinese traditional culture and reflects their intent for peaceful use of space, and that they're looking forward to the rover rolling across the Bay of Rainbows. Chang'e 3 will launch on a Long March III B onto a direct lunar transfer orbit (an orbit with perigee 200 kilometers and apogee 380,000 kilometers). Strangely, the press briefing did not include a mention of a specific launch date and time. Via NASAspaceflight.com I can convey a rumor that it may be launching December 1. The rumor comes from a member of the forum's personal communication with a friend who knows someone at the Xichang launch site, so I wouldn't set my watch by it, but I'll report it in case it turns out to be true: The launch may take place on December 2, 2013 between 1 and 1:30 a.m. China standard time (December 1 at 9:00 PT / 17:00 UT), with lunar orbit insertion on December 6 at 10:30 (December 5 at 18:30 PT / December 6 at 2:30 UT), and landing on December 16. A subsequent post points to a 2008 paper that states that a landing on December 16 would occur at 12:36 UT.