More than One year ago on 24th November 2020, the Chang Zheng – Long March Five Carrier Rocket Launched away in CNSA – China National Space Administration China Wenchang spaceport launch, Change Five Lunar probe into orbit, opened up towards China – People’s Republic of China’s first celestial bodies sample return trip from Mons Rumker on the Lunar Surface of the moon New research achievements – Chinese scientists reveal the composition of lunar soil minerals and space wind at the landing site of Chang’e 5
Chang’e-5 team On October 1st 2023 on China’s National Day of the Founding of People’s Republic of China…. During the 74th International Astronautical Congress (IAC) opened in Baku, Azerbaijan. Scientists such as Schumacher, President of the International Academy of Astronautics, awarded the “Chang’e-5 team” to the Chinese Chang’e-5 team. Lawrence Team Award”. Chang’e-5 chief designer Hu Hao and others attended the award ceremony as team representatives and announced that Chang’e-5 lunar scientific research samples will soon be open to international applications. Scientists from all countries are welcome to jointly research and share results.
Chang’e-5 was China’s first unmanned lunar sample return mission.It was China’s most complex aerospace system project with the largest technical span at that time. It made breakthroughs in lunar surface sampling, lunar surface take-off and ascent, lunar orbit rendezvous and docking, sample transfer, and jump-type missions. Using key technologies such as re-entry and return, after an interlocking flight process, it brought back 1,731 grams of lunar samples, becoming the world’s largest unmanned lunar sampling mission with the largest single sampling volume. The Chang’e-5 mission is a vivid practice for my country to achieve high-level scientific and technological self-reliance. It has laid the foundation for subsequent unmanned lunar scientific research stations and manned lunar landings. It is another important milestone in my country’s aerospace development.
The “Lawrence Team Award” was established in 2001. It is one of the two major awards issued annually by the International Academy of Astronautics (IAA). It is the highest team honor of the International Academy of Astronautics and aims to recognize aerospace project teams that have made outstanding achievements in the field of aerospace. Chang’e-5’s outstanding achievements in technological innovation, scientific discovery, and international cooperation have won high recognition from international peers.
More than One year ago on 24th November 2020, the Chang Zheng – Long March Five Carrier Rocket Launched away in CNSA – China National Space Administration China Wenchang spaceport launch, Change Five Lunar probe into orbit, opened up towards China – People’s Republic of China’s first celestial bodies sample return trip from Mons Rumker on the Lunar Surface.……
Applicants who are approved should sign a lunar sample loan agreement with the Lunar Exploration Center within 10 working days and receive a lunar sample certificate. After that, contact the Lunar Sample Laboratory of the National Astronomical Observatory in accordance with the procedures to go through the relevant procedures for sample collection.
Via CNSA China Space Administration –CLEP China Lunar Exploration project management office Lunar Exploration and Aerospace Engineering Center
中国空间站 On currently on 24th to 26th December 2021 Christmas eve, CNSA –China National Space Administrationin collaboration with CCTV9 China Central Radio and Television will telecast “Our Journey” is the first panoramic documentary produced by China National Space Administration and China Central Radio and Television in 4 years to show the complete course of China’s lunar exploration project in 17 years . It is a documentary . Documentary works with international vision, international expression, and international standards are excellent works that tell Chinese stories, spread space culture, and popularize space knowledge
The documentary consists of three episodes, each of 50 minutes, which truly presents the development of China’s lunar exploration project over the past 17 years, which has been through ups and downs, and left a tortuous but full history. This imprint records not only a huge and complicated super project, but also a testimony to the rapid growth of China’s aerospace industry and the common progress of the Chinese nation. The film fully and vividly interprets the spirit of lunar exploration of “chasing dreams, exploring courageously, coordinating fortifications, and win-win cooperation” , promotes the spiritual pedigree of the Chinese Communists , and conveys the spiritual power that China’s scientific and technological development and progress rely on.
Through character interviews, important development scenarios, and the combined application of various methods such as related materials, the film outlines the continuous and staggered cooperation and support between the various development units of the major systems, and demonstrates the Chinese people’s fearlessness in scientific exploration. Pursuit, as well as the admirable courage and wisdom devoted to this journey full of risks and challenges.
“Our journey” documentary will be held December 24 – the 26th in the Central Radio and Television CCTV-9 record channel 20:00 prime time heavy launch a new media center video, CCTV and other platforms will also be broadcast simultaneously.
Review of the first anniversary of the Chang’e 5 mission-returning home safely
One year ago today 24th November 2020 Now it’s the 24th November 2021 , the Chang Zheng – Long March Five Carrier Rocket Launched away in CNSA – China National Space Administration China Wenchang spaceport launch, Change Five Lunar probe into orbit, opened up towards China – People’s Republic of China’s first celestial bodies sample return trip from Mons Rumker on the Lunar Surface.……
At 23:10 on December 3, 2020, the Chang’e-5 ascender carried a lunar sample to take off from the lunar surface. About 6 minutes later, it entered an elliptical orbit around the moon. At 2:13 on December 6, the ascender accurately reached the scheduled “handover” position 50 kilometers in front of the orbit-return assembly and about 10 kilometers above it. At 5:42, the ascender and the orbit-returning assembly completed the rendezvous and docking. At 6 o’clock, the sample packaging container was transferred from the ascender to the returner. This process of autonomous rendezvous and docking and sample transfer is like the handover process in a 100-meter relay race. It is brilliant and highly technical. Using a lunar orbital rendezvous and docking after take-off from the lunar surface, rather than a direct lunar-to-ground transfer after taking off from the lunar surface, this design is conducive to collecting and carrying more samples back to the earth, and for technical accumulation and verification for subsequent missions.
After the Chang’e-5 probe undergoes a lunar-to-earth transfer, the returner and the orbiter are separated and transferred to the return re-entry section, using a semi-ballistic jump type, that is, a “drifting” return method. After two re-entry into the atmosphere, it decelerates in Beijing. At 1:59 on December 17, 2020, the returner successfully landed in the planned area of Siziwang Banner, Inner Mongolia, marking the successful completion of my country’s first extraterrestrial celestial body sampling and return mission.
At about 1 am on the 17th, the Beijing Aerospace Flight Control Center injected high-precision navigation parameters into the Chang’e-5 orbiter and returner combination through the ground measurement and control station. After that, the orbiter and the returner were normally unlocked and separated at a height of about 5,000 kilometers above the sea level of the South Atlantic Ocean, and the orbiter completed the evasive maneuver as planned. At 1:33 in the morning, the Chang’e-5 returner entered the earth’s atmosphere at a high speed close to the second cosmic speed (about 11.2 kilometers per second) at a height of about 120 kilometers above the ground, and performed the first aerodynamic deceleration. After descending to a predetermined altitude, the retractor jumps up out of the atmosphere and begins to slide down after reaching the highest point. After that, the returner enters the atmosphere again and performs a second aerodynamic deceleration. When descending to a height of about 10 kilometers above the ground, the retractor opened the parachute to complete the final deceleration and maintain a stable attitude, and then landed smoothly in the predetermined area.
During the 30-second parachute opening process, a total of 3 work phases were completed. A series of actions were completed to open the parachute with the flip cover, decelerate the deceleration parachute, pull out the main parachute by the deceleration parachute separation, open the parachute like a closed main parachute, and fully open the main parachute and descend steadily. The work of the recovery system is interlocked. Any mistake will cause the catastrophic consequences of the hard landing of the returner. All the work links cannot be controlled and adjusted from the ground. The recovery system needs to complete these accurately and reliably in such a short time. The action ensures that the returner can safely land at the predetermined location.
Before welcoming the return of Chang’e 5 at the Siziwangqi landing site, a snowfall also arrived as expected, putting a layer of “dress” on the landing site and also brought great difficulty to the search and recovery of the mission. In order to ensure this mission, the search and recovery brigade of a certain base that performed the search and recovery mission organized several rounds of search and recovery exercises under extreme weather conditions such as “extreme cold, dark night, and freezing”. In the end, the search team arrived at the landing site about half an hour after landing and successfully completed the mission. Chang’e 5 obtained a total of 1,731 grams of lunar samples, which is also in line with the characteristics of China’s lunar exploration project. It took 17 years and went through three steps of “circumnavigating, descending, and returning” to draw a blueprint for China’s lunar exploration.
Reaching the moon in nine days, sailing shining galaxy;
Dream set sail, we walk along the way!
Looking forward to the next highlight of China’s lunar exploration project!
One year ago today 24th November 2020 Now it’s the 24th November 2021 , the Chang Zheng – Long March Five Carrier Rocket Launched away in CNSA – China National Space Administration China Wenchang spaceport launch, Change Five Lunar probe into orbit, opened up towards China – People’s Republic of China’s first celestial bodies sample return trip from Mons Rumker on the Lunar Surface.……
At 23:10 on December 3, 2020, the Chang’e-5 ascender carried a lunar sample to take off from the lunar surface. About 6 minutes later, it entered an elliptical orbit around the moon. At 2:13 on December 6, the ascender accurately reached the scheduled “handover” position 50 kilometers in front of the orbit-return assembly and about 10 kilometers above it. At 5:42, the ascender and the orbit-returning assembly completed the rendezvous and docking. At 6 o’clock, the sample packaging container was transferred from the ascender to the returner. This process of autonomous rendezvous and docking and sample transfer is like the handover process in a 100-meter relay race. It is brilliant and highly technical. Using a lunar orbital rendezvous and docking after take-off from the lunar surface, rather than a direct lunar-to-ground transfer after taking off from the lunar surface, this design is conducive to collecting and carrying more samples back to the earth, and for technical accumulation and verification for subsequent missions.
Aspect 1-chase in space
Both the ascender and the orbit-back assembly fly around the moon, but the orbital heights are different. The ascender runs on the outer track at a height of 210 kilometers, and the orbit-back assembly runs on the inner track at a height of 200 kilometers. The distance on the inner track is short, the track-back assembly runs slightly faster, and the ascender on the outer track runs slower. In order to realize the “transfer bar”, the rail-back assembly needs to raise the rail in the height direction and gradually approach the ascender in the front and rear direction. When approaching a certain distance, the orbit-back assembly will autonomously control the engine to change the direction of travel and take a shortcut to catch up with the ascender. During the entire chase process, multiple anchor points are set up, and the orbit-return assembly stops to keep the relative position unchanged, conducts a state inspection, and ensures that the measurement and control conditions meet the requirements during docking.
Picture: Lunar orbital rendezvous and docking flight phase division. (Source: Xu Yang, Ma Lin, Liu Tao, etc. Chang’e 5 Lunar Orbital Rendezvous and Docking Guidance, Navigation and Control System. Science in China: Technological Sciences, 2021, 51: 788–798)
Aspect 2-“High-precision measurement” + “Know yourself and the enemy”
During the rendezvous and docking process, it is necessary to make the orbit-return assembly and the ascender know the relative position, speed and attitude of each other. For this reason, a variety of sensors for relative measurement are configured to realize relative navigation. When the distance is 100 kilometers, the microwave radar starts to work. It not only provides the relative motion parameters of the two devices according to the traditional radar “call and answer” mode, but also upgrades to the “dialogue exchange” mode, between the orbital assembly and the ascender. Two-way transmission of remote control commands and telemetry parameters. At a distance of 20 kilometers, lidar “comes on the scene” to provide higher-precision measurement information. At about 100 meters, the optical sensor began to show its talents to achieve close distance and attitude measurement. These sensors are relayed to each other over the working distance and covered and connected, so as to ensure that there are at least two different systems of sensors available at any distance, so that the orbit-back assembly can be seen more accurately, the measurement is more precise, and the system is more reliable.
Aspect 3-precise “handover baton” from 380,000 kilometers away
The weight of the orbit-return assembly is more than 2 tons, but the mass of the ascender is only one-sixth of its mass. If the traditional collision docking is used, it is very easy to cause the ascender to be knocked into flight. For this reason, a claw-type catching and docking mechanism is specially designed. Each pair of claws is like two arms, which are quickly closed within 1 second to form a closed space, and the passive lock handle of the ascender is firmly restrained inside. Can’t escape. It has to be accurate, and the accuracy requirement after docking is better than 0.5 mm, which is like “threading a needle” in space. The use of 3 sets of claw mechanism star-shaped circumferential layout and self-centering design realizes the automatic centering of the two aircraft after docking, and realizes the lightweight design while ensuring high-precision docking.
The design of the transfer mechanism is also very clever. In order to realize the transfer of long-stroke sample containers of more than six hundred millimeters, the designers found inspiration from the inchworm. Based on the principle of movement stroke amplification + relay transfer, they proposed a relay mechanism for imitating the inchworm. The simple circular expansion and contraction movement of the parallel link can realize the continuous movement of the object. The entire transfer process is like the movement of a caterpillar, stretching and shrinking, continuously advancing.
