After a 20 - day journeying , China ’s Queqiao lunar communication relay race orbiter has made it to lunar field . Its companion , the Longjiang-2 microsatellite , wasted no time , taking some neat pic of Earth and the lunar surface .
Queqiao , meaning Magpie Bridge , is a key component of the upcoming Chang’e 4 lander and rover mission , at which prison term it will provide a uninterrupted communication connexion to Earth while the probe does its exploratory work on the sorry side of the Moon . Chang’e 4 is expect to launch at some head in December 2018 .
But Queqiao was launch with a pair of companion , theLongjiang-1 and Longjiang-2 microsatellites . Sadly , something go awry with Longjiang-1 and it never leave Earth ’s cranial orbit , but its sister artificial satellite made it all the way to the second Lagrangian ( L2 ) point of the Earth - Moon system of rules .
Longjiang-2 , which measure just 20 inch across , is equip with a Saudi Arabia - build optical camera . The China National Space Administration exhaust three photos taken by the microsat on June 14 , one showing part of the Mare Imbrium on the Moon .
But the microsat will do more than just take pretty pictures — it ’s also set to do some cool skill . Free from Earth ’s ionosphere , the satellite will be able to do modest frequency radio receiver astronomy and amateur radio experiments .
The next measure in the mission will be to test Queqiao ’s 13 - foot - long ( 4 m ) parabolic feeler . The relay orbiter will be expected to hold out its data relay chore at a distance of intimately 300,000 miles ( 500,000 kilometer ) from Earth .
[ Xinhua ]
Science
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