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Photos Stream Back From China's Lunar Lander

After the successful soft landing of its carrier vessel on the surface of the moon, China's Jade Rabbit lunar rover has begun beaming back photos of the lunar surface. From the BBC's article, with links to video as well as several photos, comes this description: "Chang'e-3 is the third unmanned rover mission to touch down on the lunar surface, and the first to go there in more than 40 years. The last was an 840kg (1,900lb) Soviet vehicle known as Lunokhod-2, which was kept warm by polonium-210. But the six-wheeled Chinese vehicle carries a more sophisticated payload, including ground-penetrating radar which will gather measurements of the lunar soil and crust. The 120kg (260lb) Jade Rabbit rover can reportedly climb slopes of up to 30 degrees and travel at 200m (660ft) per hour. ... The rover and lander are powered by solar panels but some sources suggest they also carry radioisotope heating units (RHUs), containing plutonium-238 to keep them warm during the cold lunar night. According to Chinese space scientists, the mission is designed to test new technologies, gather scientific data and build intellectual expertise. It will also scout valuable mineral resources that could one day be mined."

6 of 268 comments (clear)

  1. Those who think that moon landing was a fake ... by Taco+Cowboy · · Score: 5, Insightful

    It's time for those who insisted that the moon landing by the Apollo astronauts were fake to stop spreading their falsehood.

    The moon pictures that the Yutu rover and the Chang'e 3 lander take look very much like the pictures that NASA provided us some 40-odd years ago - of course they can try to claim that these new batch of pictures are fake as well.

    I do not understand why there are still people holding on to that kind of conspiracy theory. I just do not understand.

    --
    Muchas Gracias, Señor Edward Snowden !
  2. Ignoring China ? by Taco+Cowboy · · Score: 5, Insightful

    The same goes for China. Industrially, they're getting to where the US was in the mid-1800s. Their space technology is in the 1950s, and early 1960s. Socially, they're pre-1750s in many ways. Militarily, they're in the 1910s, at best

    I certainly hope that you are NOT an American.

    If you are, please, I beseech you, please WAKE THE FUCK UP.

    America is in a steep decline, and the rate of decline has quicken in the past 2 decades.

    And America's decline is in stark contrast with the rapid growth of Brazil, India and China.

    --
    Muchas Gracias, Señor Edward Snowden !
  3. Congratulations! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Insightful

    My congratulations to the scientists and engineers that made this mission work! A difficult job done well!

  4. A lot of steps to get there.... by speedlaw · · Score: 5, Insightful

    You have to get out of orbit...you need to get to the moon....you need to get into lunar orbit and then land....successfully. Read the history of the Ranger Program to see how much work this took the US, and they were crashing onto the moon, not trying to land a working Rover. Getting the insertions correct is not easy. China has done something difficult and laudable. While I'm sure they had the full data from the US program, and the USSR program, making this happen is still a great achievement. I have noticed how the US media is paying little attention to this......

  5. Re:It's just like JavaScript or NoSQL. by bill_mcgonigle · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Their space technology is in the 1950s, and early 1960s.

    China has over one million people working on their space program. They have so much cash that they've been buying US Treasury Bills despite their dubious value and have recently stopped being so silly. They're building a moon base in the next decade and will be landing men on Mars in the 2030's.

    Buy lots of cheap stuff at Walmart - it's fueling humanity's journey to the starts.

    --
    My God, it's Full of Source!
    OUTSIDE_IP=$(dig +short my.ip @outsideip.net)
  6. Re:Those who think that moon landing was a fake .. by phantomfive · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Let's be honest, anyone who still thought that the moon landings were fakes, isn't going to be convinced by this either.

    --
    "First they came for the slanderers and i said nothing."