scotslad
3rd January 2019, 05:47
China's Chang'e-4 spacecraft could land on the dark side of the moon as soon as tonight.
https://cdn.images.express.co.uk/img/dynamic/151/590x/dark-side-of-the-moon-899254.jpg
"The probe, the Chang'e-4, entered a planned orbit on Sunday 'to prepare for the first-ever soft landing on the far side of the moon', the news agency said, citing the China National Space Administration.
It didn't say when the landing would occur- but experts from the Smithsonian Institution, the American museums and research centres group, reported that the craft was expected to set down on the Von Kármán crater landing point between January 1 and 3, according to the South China Morning Post.
In an update on January 1, Caltech researcher YE Quanzhi tweeted that China's Central Television had confirmed the Jan 3 landing date, though without word on the exact time.
According to the SkyWatcher account, this could come around 9:00 a.m. Beijing Time (01:00 UT)."
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-6547947/Chinese-spacecraft-touch-dark-moon-TONIGHT-historic-landing.html
Key Question - What will be shared and revealed?
https://cdn.images.express.co.uk/img/dynamic/151/590x/dark-side-of-the-moon-899254.jpg
"The probe, the Chang'e-4, entered a planned orbit on Sunday 'to prepare for the first-ever soft landing on the far side of the moon', the news agency said, citing the China National Space Administration.
It didn't say when the landing would occur- but experts from the Smithsonian Institution, the American museums and research centres group, reported that the craft was expected to set down on the Von Kármán crater landing point between January 1 and 3, according to the South China Morning Post.
In an update on January 1, Caltech researcher YE Quanzhi tweeted that China's Central Television had confirmed the Jan 3 landing date, though without word on the exact time.
According to the SkyWatcher account, this could come around 9:00 a.m. Beijing Time (01:00 UT)."
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-6547947/Chinese-spacecraft-touch-dark-moon-TONIGHT-historic-landing.html
Key Question - What will be shared and revealed?