Chang'e 4 (; ) is a robotic spacecraft mission, part of the second phase of the Chinese Lunar Exploration Program. China achieved humanity's first soft landing on the

far side of the Moon The far side of the Moon is the lunar hemisphere that always faces away from Earth, opposite to the near side, because of synchronous rotation in the Moon's orbit. Compared to the near side, the far side's terrain is rugged, with a multitu ...

, on 3 January 2019. A communication relay satellite, , was first launched to a

halo orbit A halo orbit is a periodic, three-dimensional orbit near one of the L1, L2 or L3 Lagrange points in the three-body problem of orbital mechanics. Although a Lagrange point is just a point in empty space, its peculiar characteristic is that it ...

near the Earth–Moon L₂ point in May 2018. The robotic

lander Lander may refer to: Media and entertainment * ''Lander'' (computer game), computer game published by Psygnosis in 1999 * ''Lander'' (game demo), the 3D game demo provided with the Acorn Archimedes computer * Lander (Transformers), a fiction ...

and ''

Yutu-2 ''Yutu-2'' is the robotic lunar rover component of CNSA's Chang'e 4 mission to the Moon, launched on 7 December 2018 18:23 UTC, it entered lunar orbit on 12 December 2018 before making the first soft landing on the far side of the Moon on 3 J ...

'' ()

rover Rover may refer to: People * Constance Rover (1910–2005), English historian * Jolanda de Rover (born 1963), Dutch swimmer * Rover Thomas (c. 1920–1998), Indigenous Australian artist Places * Rover, Arkansas, US * Rover, Missouri, US * ...

were launched on 7 December 2018 and entered lunar orbit on 12 December 2018, before landing on the Moon's far side. The mission is the follow-up to

Chang'e 3 Chang'e 3 (; ) is a robotic lunar exploration mission operated by the China National Space Administration (CNSA), incorporating a robotic lander and China's first lunar rover. It was launched in December 2013 as part of the second phase of t ...

, the first Chinese landing on the Moon. The spacecraft was originally built as a backup for Chang'e 3 and became available after Chang'e 3 landed successfully in 2013. The configuration of Chang'e 4 was adjusted to meet new scientific and performance objectives. Like its predecessors, the mission is named after

Chang'e Chang'e ( ; , alternatively rendered as Chang-Er or Ch‘ang-o), originally known as Heng'e, is the Chinese goddess of the Moon. She is the subject of several legends in Chinese mythology, most of which incorporate several of the following elem ...

, the Chinese Moon goddess. In November 2019, Chang’e 4 mission team was awarded Gold Medal by the

Royal Aeronautical Society The Royal Aeronautical Society, also known as the RAeS, is a British multi-disciplinary professional institution dedicated to the global aerospace community. Founded in 1866, it is the oldest aeronautical society in the world. Members, Fellows, ...

. In October 2020, the mission was awarded the ''World Space Award'' by the

International Astronautical Federation The International Astronautical Federation (IAF) is an international space advocacy organization based in Paris, and founded in 1951 as a non-governmental organization to establish a dialogue between scientists around the world and to lay ...

. Both were the first time any Chinese mission to receive such awards.

Overview

The Chinese Lunar Exploration Program is designed to be conducted in fourChang'e 4 press conference
CNSA, broadcast on 14 January 2019. phases of incremental technological advancement: The first is simply reaching lunar orbit, a task completed by Chang'e 1 in 2007 and Chang'e 2 in 2010. The second is landing and roving on the Moon, as

did in 2013 and Chang'e 4 did in 2019. The third is collecting lunar samples from the near-side and sending them to Earth, a task Chang'e 5 completed in 2020, and Chang'e 6 will attempt in the future. The fourth phase consists of development of a robotic research station near the Moon's south pole.China's Planning for Deep Space Exploration and Lunar Exploration before 2030
(PDF) XU Lin, ZOU Yongliao, JIA Yingzhuo. ''Space Sci''., 2018, 38(5): 591-592. The program aims to facilitate a crewed lunar landing in the 2030s and possibly the building of an outpost near the south pole. The Chinese Lunar Exploration Program has started to incorporate private investment from individuals and enterprises for the first time, a move aimed at accelerating aerospace innovation, cutting production costs, and promoting militarycivilian relationships. This mission will attempt to determine the age and composition of an unexplored region of the Moon, as well as develop technologies required for the later stages of the program.China's Moon Missions Are Anything But Pointless
Paul D. Spudis, ''Air & Space Smithsonian''. 3 January 2017. The landing craft touched down at 02:26 UTC on 3 January 2019, becoming the first spacecraft to land on the far side of the Moon. Yutu-2 rover was deployed about 12 hours after the landing.

Launch

The Chang'e 4 mission was first scheduled for launch in 2015 as part of the second phase of the Chinese Lunar Exploration Program. But the adjusted objectives and design of the mission imposed delays, and finally launched on 7 December 2018, 18:23 UTC.

Selenocentric phase

The spacecraft entered lunar orbit on 12 December 2018, 08:45 UTC. The orbit's perilune was lowered to on 30 December 2018, 00:55 UTC. Landing took place on 3 January 2019 at 02:26 UTC, shortly after lunar sunrise over the Von Kármán crater in the large South Pole-Aitken basin.

Objectives

An ancient collision event on the Moon left behind a very large crater, called the Aitken Basin, that is now about deep, and it is thought that the massive impactor likely exposed the deep lunar crust, and probably the

mantle A mantle is a piece of clothing, a type of cloak. Several other meanings are derived from that. Mantle may refer to: *Mantle (clothing), a cloak-like garment worn mainly by women as fashionable outerwear **Mantle (vesture), an Eastern Orthodox ve ...

materials. If Chang'e 4 can find and study some of this material, it would get an unprecedented view into the Moon's internal structure and origins. The specific scientific objectives are:To the Far Side of the Moon: China's Lunar Science Goals
. Leonard David, ''Space''. 9 June 2016. * Measure the chemical compositions of lunar rocks and soils * Measure lunar surface temperature over the duration of the mission. * Carry out low-frequency radio astronomical observation and research using a

radio telescope A radio telescope is a specialized antenna and radio receiver used to detect radio waves from astronomical radio sources in the sky. Radio telescopes are the main observing instrument used in radio astronomy, which studies the radio frequency ...

* Study of

cosmic ray Cosmic rays are high-energy particles or clusters of particles (primarily represented by protons or atomic nuclei) that move through space at nearly the speed of light. They originate from the Sun, from outside of the Solar System in our own ...

s * Observe the solar corona, investigate its radiation characteristics and mechanism, and explore the evolution and transport of

coronal mass ejection A coronal mass ejection (CME) is a significant release of plasma and accompanying magnetic field from the Sun's corona into the heliosphere. CMEs are often associated with solar flares and other forms of solar activity, but a broadly accept ...

s (CME) between the Sun and Earth.

Components

''Queqiao'' relay satellite

20180912 6258TPS-TPR-2018Q3-18-09-04-p14legacy

Direct communication with Earth is impossible on the

, since transmissions are blocked by the Moon. Communications must go through a communications relay satellite, which is placed at a location that has a clear view of both the landing site and the Earth. As part of the Lunar Exploration Program, the

China National Space Administration China National Space Administration (CNSA; ) is the government agency of the People's Republic of China that is responsible for civil space administration and international space cooperation, including organizing or leading foreign exchanges ...

(CNSA) launched the ''Queqiao'' () relay satellite on 20 May 2018 to a

around the Earth–Moon L₂ point. The relay satellite is based on the Chang'e 2 design, has a mass of , and it uses a antenna to receive

X band The X band is the designation for a band of frequencies in the microwave radio region of the electromagnetic spectrum. In some cases, such as in communication engineering, the frequency range of the X band is rather indefinitely set at approxi ...

signals from the lander and rover, and relay them to Earth control on the

S band The S band is a designation by the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) for a part of the microwave band of the electromagnetic spectrum covering frequencies from 2 to 4 gigahertz (GHz). Thus it crosses the conventi ...

.Chang'e 4 relay satellite, Queqiao: A bridge between Earth and the mysterious lunar farside
. Xu, Luyan, ''The Planetary Society''. 19 May 2018. Retrieved on 20 May 2018 The spacecraft took 24 days to reach L₂, using a lunar swing-by to save fuel. On 14 June 2018, ''Queqiao'' finished its final adjustment burn and entered the L₂ halo mission orbit, which is about from the Moon. This is the first lunar relay satellite at this location. The name ''Queqiao'' ("Magpie Bridge") was inspired by and came from the Chinese tale '' The Cowherd and the Weaver Girl''.

''Longjiang'' microsatellites

As part of the Chang'e 4 mission, two microsatellites ( each) named ''Longjiang-1'' and ''Longjiang-2'' (; also known as ''Discovering the Sky at Longest Wavelengths Pathfinder'' or ''DSLWP'' ), were launched along with ''Queqiao'' in May 2018. Both satellites were developed by

Harbin Institute of Technology Harbin Institute of Technology (; abbreviation: HIT or ) is a public research university and a member of China's elite C9 League and a member of the University Alliance of the Silk Road. HIT is a Chinese Ministry of Education Class A Dou ...

, China. ''Longjiang-1'' failed to enter lunar orbit, but ''Longjiang-2'' succeeded and operated in lunar orbit until 31 July 2019 when it was deliberately directed to crash onto the Moon. Longjiang 2's crash site is located at inside Van Gent crater, where it made a 4 by 5 metre crater upon impact. These microsatellites were tasked to observe the sky at very low frequencies (1–30

megahertz The hertz (symbol: Hz) is the unit of frequency in the International System of Units (SI), equivalent to one event (or cycle) per second. The hertz is an SI derived unit whose expression in terms of SI base units is s−1, meaning that one ...

), corresponding to

wavelength In physics, the wavelength is the spatial period of a periodic wave—the distance over which the wave's shape repeats. It is the distance between consecutive corresponding points of the same phase on the wave, such as two adjacent crests, tr ...

s of , with the aim of studying energetic phenomena from celestial sources. Due to the Earth's

ionosphere The ionosphere () is the ionized part of the upper atmosphere of Earth, from about to above sea level, a region that includes the thermosphere and parts of the mesosphere and exosphere. The ionosphere is ionized by solar radiation. It plays ...

, no observations in this frequency range have been done in Earth orbit, offering potential breakthrough science.

''Chang'e'' lander and ''Yutu-2'' rover

The Chang'e 4 lander and rover design was modeled after Chang'e-3 and its ''Yutu'' rover. In fact, Chang'e 4 was built as a backup to

, and based on the experience and results from that mission, Chang'e 4 was adapted to the specifics of the new mission. The lander and rover were launched by

Long March 3B The Long March 3B (, ''Chang Zheng 3B''), also known as the CZ-3B and LM-3B, is a Chinese orbital launch vehicle. Introduced in 1996, it is launched from Launch Area 2 and 3 at the Xichang Satellite Launch Center in Sichuan. A three-stage rock ...

rocket on 7 December 2018, 18:23 UTC, six months after the launch of the ''Queqiao'' relay satellite. The total landing mass is . Both the stationary lander and ''Yutu-2'' rover are equipped with a radioisotope heater unit (RHU) in order to heat their subsystems during the long lunar nights,China Shoots for the Moon's Far Side
(PDF) IEEE.org. 2018. while electrical power is generated by

solar panels A solar cell panel, solar electric panel, photo-voltaic (PV) module, PV panel or solar panel is an assembly of photovoltaic solar cells mounted in a (usually rectangular) frame, and a neatly organised collection of PV panels is called a photo ...

. After landing, the lander extended a ramp to deploy the ''Yutu-2'' rover (literally: "

Jade Rabbit The Moon rabbit or Moon hare is a mythical figure in East Asian and indigenous American folklore, based on pareidolia interpretations that identify the dark markings on the near side of the Moon as a rabbit or hare. In East Asia, the rabbit is ...

") to the lunar surface. The rover measures 1.5 × 1.0 × 1.0 m (4.9 × 3.3 × 3.3 ft) and has a mass of . ''Yutu-2'' rover was manufactured in Dongguan, Guangdong province; it is solar-powered, RHU-heated, and it is propelled by six wheels. The rover's nominal operating time is three months, but after the experience with ''Yutu'' rover in 2013, the rover design was improved and Chinese engineers are hopeful it will operate for "a few years." In December 2019, ''Yutu 2'' broke the lunar longevity record, previously held by the Soviet Union's ''

Lunokhod 1 ''Lunokhod 1'' ( Russian: Луноход-1 ("Moonwalker 1"), also known as Аппарат 8ЕЛ № 203 ("Device 8EL No. 203")) was the first of two robotic lunar rovers landed on the Moon by the Soviet Union as part of its Lunokhod program. The ...

'' rover.

Science payloads

The communications relay satellite, orbiting microsatellite, lander and rover each carry scientific payloads. The relay satellite is performing

radio astronomy Radio astronomy is a subfield of astronomy that studies celestial objects at radio frequencies. The first detection of radio waves from an astronomical object was in 1933, when Karl Jansky at Bell Telephone Laboratories reported radiation comin ...

,Chang'e 4 Relay
. Gunter Drunk Krebs, ''Gunter's Space Page''. whereas the lander and ''Yutu-2'' rover will study the

geophysics Geophysics () is a subject of natural science concerned with the physical processes and physical properties of the Earth and its surrounding space environment, and the use of quantitative methods for their analysis. The term ''geophysics'' so ...

of the landing zone.China's Journey to the Lunar Far Side: A Missed Opportunity?
Paul D. Spudis, ''Air & Space Smithsonian''. 14 June 2017.
. Emily Lakdawalla, ''The Planetary Society'', 22 June 2016. The science payloads are, in part, supplied by international partners in Sweden, Germany, the Netherlands, and Saudi Arabia.

Relay satellite

The primary function of the '' Queqiao relay satellite'' that is deployed in a

around the Earth–Moon L₂ point is to provide continuous relay communications between Earth and the lander on the far side of the Moon. The ''Queqiao'' launched on 21 May 2018. It used a lunar swing-by transfer orbit to reach the moon. After the first trajectory correction maneuvers (TCMs), the spacecraft is in place. On 25 May, ''Queqiao'' approached the vicinity of the L₂. After several small adjustments, ''Queqiao'' arrived at L₂

on 14 June. Additionally, this satellite hosts the Netherlands–China Low-Frequency Explorer (NCLE), an instrument performing astrophysical studies in the unexplored radio regime of 80 kilohertz to 80 megahertz. It was developed by the Radboud University in Netherlands and the

Chinese Academy of Sciences The Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS); ), known by Academia Sinica in English until the 1980s, is the national academy of the People's Republic of China for natural sciences. It has historical origins in the Academia Sinica during the Republi ...

. The NCLE on the orbiter and the LFS on the lander work in synergy performing low-frequency (0.1–80 MHz) radio astronomical observations.

Lunar lander

The lander and rover carry scientific payloads to study the geophysics of the landing zone, with a

life science Life is a quality that distinguishes matter that has biological processes, such as signaling and self-sustaining processes, from that which does not, and is defined by the capacity for growth, reaction to stimuli, metabolism, energy ...

and modest chemical analysis capability. The lander is equipped with the following payloads: * Landing Camera (LCAM), mounted on the bottom of the spacecraft, the camera began to produce a video stream at the height of above the lunar surface. * Terrain Camera (TCAM), mounted on top of the lander and able to rotate 360°, is being used to image the lunar surface and the rover in high definition. * Low Frequency Spectrometer (LFS) to research solar radio bursts at frequencies between 0.1 and 40 MHz and to study the lunar ionosphere. * Lunar Lander Neutrons and Dosimetry (LND), a (neutron) dosimeter developed by Kiel University in Germany. It is gathering information about radiation dosimetry for future human exploration of the Moon, and will contribute to

solar wind The solar wind is a stream of charged particles released from the upper atmosphere of the Sun, called the corona. This plasma mostly consists of electrons, protons and alpha particles with kinetic energy between . The composition of the sol ...

studies. It has shown that the radiation dose on the surface of the Moon is 2 to 3 times higher than what astronauts experience in the ISS. * Lunar Micro Ecosystem,Geological Characteristics of Chang'e-4 Landing Site
. (PDF) Jun Huang, Zhiyong Xiao, Jessica Flahaut, Mélissa Martinot, Xiao Xiao. 49th Lunar and Planetary Science Conference 2018 (LPI Contrib. No. 2083). is a sealed

biosphere The biosphere (from Greek βίος ''bíos'' "life" and σφαῖρα ''sphaira'' "sphere"), also known as the ecosphere (from Greek οἶκος ''oîkos'' "environment" and σφαῖρα), is the worldwide sum of all ecosystems. It can also ...

cylinder long and in diameter with seeds and insect eggs to test whether plants and insects could hatch and grow together in synergy. The experiment includes six types of organisms: cottonseed,

potato The potato is a starchy food, a tuber of the plant ''Solanum tuberosum'' and is a root vegetable native to the Americas. The plant is a perennial in the nightshade family Solanaceae. Wild potato species can be found from the southern Uni ...

, rapeseed, ''

Arabidopsis thaliana ''Arabidopsis thaliana'', the thale cress, mouse-ear cress or arabidopsis, is a small flowering plant native to Eurasia and Africa. ''A. thaliana'' is considered a weed; it is found along the shoulders of roads and in disturbed land. A winter ...

'' (a flowering plant), as well as yeast and fruit fly eggs. Environmental systems keep the container hospitable and Earth-like, except for the low lunar gravity and radiation. If the fly eggs hatch, the larvae would produce carbon dioxide, while the germinated plants would release

oxygen Oxygen is the chemical element with the symbol O and atomic number 8. It is a member of the chalcogen group in the periodic table, a highly reactive nonmetal, and an oxidizing agent that readily forms oxides with most elements ...

through

photosynthesis Photosynthesis is a process used by plants and other organisms to convert light energy into chemical energy that, through cellular respiration, can later be released to fuel the organism's activities. Some of this chemical energy is stored in ...

. It was hoped that together, the plants and fruit flies could establish a simple synergy within the container. Yeast would play a role in regulating carbon dioxide and oxygen, as well as decomposing processed waste from the flies and the dead plants to create an additional food source for the insects. The biological experiment was designed by 28 Chinese universities. Research in such

closed ecological system Closed ecological systems (CES) are ecosystems that do not rely on matter exchange with any part outside the system. The term is most often used to describe small, manmade ecosystems. Such systems are scientifically interesting and can potentia ...

s informs

astrobiology Astrobiology, and the related field of exobiology, is an interdisciplinary scientific field that studies the origins, early evolution, distribution, and future of life in the universe. Astrobiology is the multidisciplinary field that invest ...

and the development of biological

life support system A life-support system is the combination of equipment that allows survival in an environment or situation that would not support that life in its absence. It is generally applied to systems supporting human life in situations where the outsid ...

s for long duration missions in

space station A space station is a spacecraft capable of supporting a human crew in orbit for an extended period of time, and is therefore a type of space habitat. It lacks major propulsion or landing systems. An orbital station or an orbital space station ...

s or

space habitat A space habitat (also called a space settlement, space colony, spacestead, space city, orbital habitat, orbital settlement, orbital colony, orbital stead or orbital city) is a more advanced form of living quarters than a space station or habi ...

s for eventual space farming. :Result: Within a few hours after landing on 3 January 2019, the biosphere's temperature was adjusted to 24°C and the seeds were watered. On 15 January 2019, it was reported that cottonseed, rapeseed and potato seeds had sprouted, but images of only cottonseed were released. However, on 16 January, it was reported that the experiment was terminated due to an external temperature drop to as the lunar night set in, and a failure to warm the biosphere close to 24°C.Lunar nighttime brings end to Chang'e-4 biosphere experiment and cotton sprouts
. Andrew Jones, ''GB Times''. 16 January 2019. The experiment was terminated after nine days instead of the planned 100 days, but valuable information was obtained.

Lunar rover

* Panoramic Camera (PCAM), is installed on the rover's mast and can rotate 360°. It has a spectral range of 420 nm–700 nm and it acquires 3D images by binocular stereovision.The scientific objectives and payloads of Chang'E−4 mission
(PDF) Yingzhuo Jia, Yongliao Zou, Jinsong Ping, Changbin Xue, Jun Yan, Yuanming Ning. ''Planetary and Space Science''. 21 February 2018. * Lunar penetrating radar (LPR), is a

ground penetrating radar Ground-penetrating radar (GPR) is a geophysical method that uses radar pulses to image the subsurface. It is a non-intrusive method of surveying the sub-surface to investigate underground utilities such as concrete, asphalt, metals, pipes, cables ...

with a probing depth of approximately 30 m with 30 cm vertical resolution, and more than 100 m with 10 m vertical resolution. * Visible and Near-Infrared Imaging Spectrometer (VNIS), for

imaging spectroscopy In imaging spectroscopy (also hyperspectral imaging or spectral imaging) each pixel of an image acquires many bands of light intensity data from the spectrum, instead of just the three bands of the RGB color model. More precisely, it is the simu ...

that can then be used for identification of surface materials and atmospheric trace gases. The spectral range covers visible to near-infrared wavelengths (450 nm - 950 nm). * Advanced Small Analyzer for Neutrals (ASAN), is an energetic neutral atom analyzer provided by the

Swedish Institute of Space Physics The Swedish Institute of Space Physics ( sv, Institutet för rymdfysik, IRF) is a Swedish government agency. The institute's primary task is to carry out basic research, education and associated observatory activities in space physics, space techn ...

(IRF). It will reveal how solar wind interacts with the lunar surface, which may help determine the process behind the formation of lunar water.

Cost

The cost of the entire mission was close to building one kilometer of

subway Subway, Subways, The Subway, or The Subways may refer to: Transportation * Subway, a term for underground rapid transit rail systems * Subway (underpass), a type of walkway that passes underneath an obstacle * Subway (George Bush Intercontin ...

. The cost-per-kilometer of subway in China varies from 500 million yuan (about US$72 million) to 1.2 billion yuan (about US$172 million), based on the difficulty of construction.

Landing site

The landing site is within a crater called Von Kármán ( diameter) in the South Pole-Aitken Basin on the

that was still unexplored by landers. The site has symbolic as well as scientific value. Theodore von Kármán was the PhD advisor of

Qian Xuesen Qian Xuesen, or Hsue-Shen Tsien (; 11 December 1911 – 31 October 2009), was a Chinese mathematician, cyberneticist, aerospace engineer, and physicist who made significant contributions to the field of aerodynamics and established engineering ...

, the founder of the Chinese space program. The landing craft touched down at 02:26 UTC on 3 January 2019, becoming the first spacecraft to land on the far side of the Moon. The ''Yutu-2'' rover was deployed about 12 hours after the landing.Chang'e-4: Chinese rover now exploring Moon
Paul Rincon ''BBC News'' 4 January 2019 The selenographic coordinates of the landing site are 177.5991°E, 45.4446°S, at an elevation of -5935 m. The landing site was later (February 2019) named Statio Tianhe. Four other lunar features were also named during this mission: a mountain (Mons Tai) and three craters ( Zhinyu, Hegu, and

Tianjin Tianjin (; ; Mandarin: ), alternately romanized as Tientsin (), is a municipality and a coastal metropolis in Northern China on the shore of the Bohai Sea. It is one of the nine national central cities in Mainland China, with a total popu ...

Operations and results

A few days after landing, ''Yutu-2'' went into hibernation for its first lunar night and it resumed activities on 29 January 2019 with all instruments operating nominally. During its first full lunar day, the rover travelled , and on 11 February 2019 it powered down for its second lunar night. In May 2019, it was reported that Chang'e 4 has identified what appear to be mantle rocks on the surface, its primary objective. In January 2020, China released a large amount of data and high-resolution images from the mission lander and rover. In February 2020, Chinese astronomers reported, for the first time, a high-resolution image of a lunar ejecta sequence, and, as well, direct analysis of its internal architecture. These were based on observations made by the Lunar Penetrating Radar (LPR) on board the ''Yutu-2'' rover while studying the

International collaboration

Chang'e 4 marks the first major United States-China collaboration in space exploration since the 2011 Congressional ban. Scientists from both countries had regular contact prior to the landing. This included talks about observing plumes and particles lofted from the lunar surface by the probe's rocket exhaust during the landing to compare the results with theoretical predictions, but NASA's

Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter The Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO) is a NASA robotic spacecraft currently orbiting the Moon in an eccentric polar mapping orbit. Data collected by LRO have been described as essential for planning NASA's future human and robotic missions t ...

(LRO) was not in the right position for this during the landing. The Americans informed Chinese scientists about its satellites in orbit around the Moon, while the Chinese shared with American scientists the longitude, latitude, and timing of Chang'e 4's landing. China has agreed to a request from NASA to use the Chang'e 4 probe and Queqiao relay satellite in future American Moon missions.

International reactions

NASA Administrator The Administrator of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration is the highest-ranking official of NASA, the national space agency of the United States. The administrator is NASA's chief decision maker, responsible for providing clarity t ...

Jim Bridenstine congratulated China and hailed the success of the mission as "an impressive accomplishment". Martin Wieser of the

and principal investigator on one of the instruments onboard Chang'e, said: "We know the far side from orbital images and satellites, but we don’t know it from the surface. It's uncharted territory and that makes it very exciting."

Gallery

References

External links

CLEP

Data Release and Information Service System of China's Lunar Exploration Program

China's Chang'e-4 mission lands on Moon's far side, snaps first image
at ''

Astronomy Astronomy () is a natural science that studies celestial objects and phenomena. It uses mathematics, physics, and chemistry in order to explain their origin and evolution. Objects of interest include planets, moons, stars, nebulae, g ...

''
The scientific objectives and payloads of Chang'E4 mission
{{Portal bar, Astronomy, Stars, Spaceflight, Solar System, Science 2018 in China Chinese Lunar Exploration Program Chinese space probes Lunar rovers Soft landings on the Moon Space probes launched in 2018 Spacecraft launched by Long March rockets Spacecraft using halo orbits Space-flown life Space farming 2019 on the Moon