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China has moved a huge rocket into position in preparation for launching a mission to bring materials back from the moon for the first time in four decades.
The Long March-5 was transported by a mobile platform from its hangar to the nearby launch site on Tuesday at the Wenchang space base along the coast of the southern province of Hainan Island.
The heavy transport rocket is scheduled to launch Beijing’s latest lunar mission, the Chang’e 5, into orbit early next week.
The fifth Long March-5 rocket, with the new Chinese lunar probe Chang’e-5 on top, is ready to be transferred to the launch area
On November 17, the rocket is on its launch pad at the Wenchang spacecraft launch site in southern China’s Hainan province.
Chang’e 5 is China’s most complicated and challenging space exploration mission, according to state broadcaster CCTV.
It is set up to place a lander on the moon that will drill two meters (nearly seven feet) below the surface and collect rocks and other debris to bring to earth.
This would allow scientists to study newly obtained lunar materials for the first time from the American and Russian missions of the 1960s and 1970s.
The mission, named after the Chinese moon goddess, is among China’s most ambitious as its space program continues to produce steam since it first put a man into space in 2003, becoming only the third nation to do it after the United States and Russia.
The heavy transport rocket is expected to launch Beijing’s latest lunar mission, the Chang’e 5, into orbit early next week
Chang’e 5 is China’s most complicated and challenging space exploration mission, according to state broadcaster CCTV
The engineers moved the giant rocket along with the Chang’e 5 probe to the location after completing the relevant tests
Footage released by CCTV shows the rocket being moved onto the launch pad as a whole while standing vertically on a mobile launch pad traveling on tracks.
Another time-lapse video uploaded by China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation to social media shows the rocket standing on the launch site after being relocated.
The Long March-5 is 57 meters (187 feet) long and weighs 870 tons. Its transportation process took about two hours and was reported to be smooth.
The engineers decided to move the giant rocket along with the Chang’e 5 probe, stored on the tip of the rocket, to the location after completing the relevant tests in the hook, CCTV said.
The rocket and probe are expected to pass a functional inspection and joint test before takeoff, according to the official outlet.
The rocket is 187 feet long and weighs 870 tons. Its transportation process took about two hours and was reported to be smooth
According to state TV, the rocket and probe should pass a functional inspection and joint test before takeoff
Mao Wanbiao, deputy director of the launch site’s command center, said the Long March-5 rocket was in its final stage before takeoff.
He said: ‘Vertical transport means satellite, missile and ground systems for the [Long March-5] the rocket should work fine.
‘Once in the launch area, [we] I’m injecting [the propellant] and prepare for launch. “
According to Li Pingqi, the rocket’s deputy chief designer.
It is expected to enter orbit at speeds in excess of 10 kilometers (6.2 miles) per second.
The Chinese space authority has planned three passes for its lunar missions: circulate the moon, land on the moon and return to the moon.
Pei Zhaoyu, deputy chief engineer of the China Lunar Exploration Project, said the Chang’e 5 mission will play a key role in the return phase.
‘This is the first time he will be carrying out the sample collection and return tasks [to earth]. We hope the mission is successful so that the “circulation-landing-return” project comes to a perfect conclusion, “Mr. Pei told CCTV.
Staff members celebrate after the rocket, which was carrying China’s new lunar probe Chang’e-5 to the top, was moved to the launch area
The mission, named after the Chinese moon goddess, is among China’s most ambitious with the expansion of its space program
China currently has a mission on the way to Mars, along with a rover on the far side of the moon that is providing the first comprehensive measurements of radiation exposure from the lunar surface – vital information for any country planning to send astronauts to the moon.
Beijing has increasingly engaged with foreign countries on missions, although US law still prevents collaboration with NASA, excluding China from partnering with the International Space Station.
This prompted China to work on its own space station and launch its own programs which put it in constant competition with Japan and India among Asian nations seeking to achieve new heights in space.
The space program has proceeded cautiously, with relatively few setbacks in recent years.
The Long March-5, nicknamed “Fat 5” due to its bulky shape, failed in a previous launch attempt, but China’s huge pool of technical and engineering talent seems to have enabled it to overcome most obstacles.
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