Tag: ESA

#CNSA #ChinaNationalSpaceAdministration #國家航天局 |#BeltAndRoadinitiative #January2022 |#火星 # 天問 #天问一号#TianwenOne #MarsMission #Marslander #MarsRover #Tianwen1 probe  #祝融号 #ZhuRong Tianwen1 New Year’s Day greetings with #NewYearDay2022 #MarsPhotography images returned by the Tianwen-1 probe

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On the months of January 2022 1st January 2022 on New Years Day  天问一号飞運騎遊達达3亿CNSA – China National Space Administration – ESA – European Space agency Belt and road initiative mars mission…first Mars exploration mission, Tianwen- Martian Probe One  sent back stunning images of the Half Earth Mass size of the Rustic Planet Mars in which show stunning Martian landscape with its iconic polar caps of either southern or northern .. with its timeless Stunning Mars Photography.

Orbiter and Mars photo

On 2022 New Year’s Day, China National Space Administration CLEP – China Lunar Exploration program  issued a set of beautiful images of the first Mars mission Heaven 1 spacecraft returned from distant Mars, report to the National People ‘Heaven One “peace, extended festival greetings .

This set of images includes a photo of the orbiter and Mars, a close-up of the orbiter, the North Pole ice cap of Mars, and the “Zhurong” rover shooting fire landforms, etc., showing the operating status of the orbiter, the “Zhurong” rover, and the acquired surface of Mars form.

In Figure 1, the orbiter is flying over the north pole of Mars. The orbiter body is golden, the directional antenna for high-speed data communication with the ground is silver (under the orbiter body), and the solar wing is in good condition. The white area on Mars is the “ice” sheet covering the North Pole. Unlike the ice at the two poles of the Earth, the “ice” of Mars is composed of dry ice (solid carbon dioxide) and water ice. The dark area below Mars is the Olympia Shabo of Mars, the bright circular crater in the upper left corner is named Korolev Pit, and the remaining red and dark areas are bare ground.

 Partial close-up of the orbiter

In Figure 2, the solar wing on the side of the orbiter is fully deployed and the attitude is stable. An unfolded subsurface detection radar antenna is parallel to the solar wing, and the magnetometer extension rod extends to the upper left of the surround.

Mars Arctic Ice Sheet

Figure 3 shows the Martian North Pole ice cap, the bedding is clearly visible. After years of deposition and ablation, it presents a spiral landform composed of a white ice layer centered on the pole and bare ground.  

Figure 4 is a mosaic of 3 images acquired by the “Zhurong” Mars rover recently using a navigation terrain camera. In the figure, we can see typical Martian topography such as ring craters and rocks. As of December 31, 2021, the Tianwen-1 orbiter has been in orbit for 526 days, and is currently about 350 million kilometers away from the Earth. The communication delay is about 19.5 minutes. 1400 meters. At present, the Tianwen No. 1 mission is carrying out detection and related tests as planned, and a total of about 560GB of raw scientific data has been returned. The two devices are in good condition and operating normally.

Images and visuals are from CNSA- China National Space Administration also from there respectives..

#CNSA #ChinaNationalSpaceAdministration #国家航天局 |#BeltAndRoadinitiative #December2021| #CMS #ChinaMannedSpace the crew #Shenzhou13 #Takionauts #CSS #ChinaSpaceStation #TianheCoreModule…. #翟志剛 Commander #ZhaiZhigang on break Doing #FancyMoves in Zero Gravity while watching his favourite dramas …

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中国空间站 On currently on December 2021, the Belt and Road Initiative CNSA –China National Space Administration  CSS China Space Station in which on a three to six months setting up a new home of the first three Shenzhou 13 in which spending up to on for the further construction and verifications of the systems of the CSS –China Space Station 2021 launch calendar in which currently the three Takionauts current Shenzhou 13 ……  Preparations for the six months of extension of the China Space Station  In which the currently it remains awaiting for the crew of setting up home in conducting fun scientifically onboard中国空间站..  China Space station …..

This week of 22 December 2021, on which is the Winter solstice in which is on the 21st December 2021 Tuesday.. during this month Shenzhou Commander Zhai Zhigang has been very gentlemanly in doing the household chores of housekeeping in  which keep him busy apart from on a previous week after the Tiangong Classroom lesson from space orbiting from Space Teacher Wang Yaping this week of 15th December 2021 Shenzhou 13 Commander翟志剛  Zhai Zhigang does the house hold chores of cleaning in which he vacuums the ventilation system vents grids and cleans the China Space Station Complex . Showing a great example teaching of a good  humble gentleman ….

This time on a break, work break doing fancy moves watching his favourite television dramas on a busy schedule can’t take any time off. All kinds of fancy tricks, seize every opportunity Do stretching to fight muscle atrophy and keeping fit in space on China Space Station.

Images and visuals are from their respectives.

#CNSA #ChinaNationalSpaceAdministration #国家航天局 |#BeltAndRoadinitiative #December2021 | #嫦娥五号The #Moon #Change5 probe its Heroic #LunarMission from #MonsRumker #LunaExploration #Review The third anniversary of the first anniversary of the Chang’e 5 mission series-space rods#ChangZheng5 …..

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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.

​​2020年12月3日23时10分，嫦娥五号上升器携带月球样品从月面点火起飞，约6分钟后，进入环月椭圆轨道。12月6日2时13分，上升器准确到达轨返组合体前方50公里、上方约10公里的预定“交班”位置。5时42分，上升器与轨返对合体完成交会对接，6时，样品封装容器从上升器转移到返回器中。这个自主交会对接和样品转移过程就好像百米接力赛中的交接棒过程，精彩纷呈，技术含量极高。采用从月面起飞后进行一次月球轨道交会对接，而不是从月面起飞后直接月地转移，这样的设计有利于采集和携带更多样品返回地球，并为后续任务进行技术积累和验证。

看点1——太空中的追逐

上升器和轨返组合体都在环月飞行，但轨道高度不同，上升器在210公里高的外道跑，轨返组合体在200公里高的内道跑。内道路程短，轨返组合体跑得稍快一些，外道的上升器则跑得要慢一点。为了实现“交接棒”，轨返组合体需要在高度方向上抬高轨道，并且在前后方向上逐渐逼近上升器。当接近到一定距离时，轨返组合体会自主控制发动机来改变行进方向，抄近道赶上上升器。整个追逐过程设置多个停泊点，轨返组合体停下来保持相对位置不变，进行状态检查，并确保对接的时候测控条件满足要求。

 看点2——“高精测量”+“知己知彼”

在交会对接过程中，需要让轨返组合体和上升器清楚彼此的相对位置、速度和姿态，为此配置了多种进行相对测量的敏感器，用来实现相对导航。在相距100公里的时候，微波雷达开始工作，既按照传统雷达的“点名答到”模式提供两器的相对运动参数，还升级到“对话交流”模式，在轨返组合体和上升器之间双向传输遥控指令和遥测参数。在相距20公里的时候，激光雷达“登场”，提供更高精度的测量信息。而到了100米左右，光学敏感器开始大显身手，实现近距离的距离和姿态测量。这些敏感器在作用距离上彼此接力又有覆盖衔接，从而确保在任意距离上至少有两种不同体制的敏感器可用，使得轨返组合体看得更准，测得更精，系统更加可靠。 

看点3——38万公里之外的精准“交接棒”

轨返组合体重达2吨多，上升器质量却只有它的六分之一，如果采用传统的碰撞式对接，极易导致上升器被撞飞。为此，专门设计了抱爪式抓捕对接机构，每对抱爪犹如两只手臂，在1秒内快速合拢形成闭合空间，将位于上升器的被动锁柄牢牢地约束在内部，再也无法逃脱。对得上还得对得准，对接后的精度要求优于0.5毫米，好比在太空“穿针引线”。采用3套抱爪机构星型周向布局、自定心设计，实现了两飞行器对接后的自动对准中心，在保证高精度对接的同时实现了轻量化设计。

转移机构的设计也很巧妙。为了实现六百多毫米的长行程样品容器转移，设计师们从尺蠖的身上找到了灵感，基于运动行程放大+接力转移的原理，提出了一种仿尺蠖大展收接力式机构，通过多级并联连杆的简单循环展收运动，就可以实现物体的连续移动。整个转移过程如同毛毛虫的运动，一伸一缩、不断前进。

作者：王琼  胡震宇 于丹 戚铁磊​​​​

Images and visuals are from Weibo and their respectives…. Of CNSA China National Space Administration … 

#CNSA #ChinaNationalSpaceAdministration #国家航天局 |#BeltAndRoadinitiative #CLEP #March2021 | #VonKarmanCrater #LunarMission #Change4 #Yutu2 Lunar adventuring #LunaExploration Summary Completing that 808th Earth Day accumulated mileage was 682.77 meters exploring some lunar rocks…..

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As of 22th March 2021 Monday, The CNSA –China National Space Administration Belt and Road Initiative Lunar Mission……Chang’e-4 successfully awakened completed the 28th day of the work period after the Chinese Lunar New Year – year of the OX  got  back to work  Chang’e 4 completed the 28th day of work……. The Chang’e 4 lander and the “Yutu 2” lunar rover finished their 28th day of work at 2 o’clock on March 21 and at 17:09 Hong Kong – Beijing Time  on March 20, and entered the moon night Hibernate. Up to now, the Chang’e 4 lander and the “Yutu-2” lunar rover have survived 808 Earth days on the moon. The lunar rover travelled about 30 meters during the day and the accumulated mileage was 682.77 meters…

Chang’e-4 completed its 28th day of work, and scientific research revealed the source of the stones in the inspection area

 

The Chang’e-4 lander and the “Yutu-2” lunar rover ended their 28th day of work at 2 o’clock on March 21 and at 17:09 on March 20, respectively, and entered moon night dormancy. Up to now, the Chang’e 4 lander and the “Yutu-2” lunar rover have survived 808 Earth days on the moon. The lunar rover travelled about 30 meters during the day and the accumulated mileage was 682.77 meters.

Researchers systematically analysed the detection data obtained by Chang’e-4, and obtained a series of scientific results on the mineral composition of the landing area, the history of topographic and geological evolution, the degree of lunar soil space weathering, and the shallow underground structure. Recently, the research results of the State Key Laboratory of Remote Sensing Science, Institute of Aerospace Information Innovation, Chinese Academy of Sciences, were published in the international journal “Journal of Geophysical Research: Planets”. By analysing the spectral characteristics of the stones in the inspection area, the scientific research team concluded that the stones are likely to originate from the ancient Finsen impact crater, and the spatial distribution characteristics indicate that they are freshly exposed impact crater spatters. These rocks were originally buried in the lunar soil after being sputtered by the Finsen impact crater. Later, they were exposed on the lunar surface due to the impact and excavation of the spatter from the Vega impact crater.

 

A number of studies revealed that the Chang’e-4 landing area was covered by spatter from the Finsen impact crater formed 3.5 billion years ago. After a long period of evolution, these spatters formed a layer of fine-grained lunar soil about 12 meters thick. During the 3rd and 13th day of the month, the “Yutu-2” lunar rover found more rocks in the inspection area (Figure 2). The “Yutu-2” lunar rover obtained the spectra of two representative rocks and a panoramic image of the surrounding landforms through detailed in-position detection.

The results of the spectral comparison show (Figure 3) that the spectral absorption characteristics of the rocks are closer to those of the Finsen impact crater material, but are quite different from the spectral absorption features of the basalt inside the von Karmen impact crater. This shows that these rocks are not native basalts, and they are most likely derived from the spatter of the Finsen impact crater.

The rocks discovered by the “Yutu-2” lunar rover during the 13th day of the month are mainly distributed around an impact crater. The overall density of the rocks gradually decreases as the distance from the impact crater increases, and some rocks are distributed in chains along a specific direction (Figure 4). The spatial distribution characteristics of the rocks indicate that they are sputtering from the current impact crater. The impact crater has an elliptical shape with a northwest-southeast direction along its major axis. The continuous (micro) meteorite impacts and the thermal expansion and contraction caused by the temperature difference between day and night caused the exposed rocks on the moon to gradually shatter and disappear within tens of millions of years. The large number of rocks remaining around indicates that the impact crater is a fresh impact crater, and the exposure time of these rocks is relatively short.

Research results have shown that a sputtering pattern of the Vega impact crater located in the northwest of the landing area just passes through the area near the landing site, and secondary impact craters formed by spatters are often seen in the splashing pattern. In the inspection area of “Yutu No. 2”, several fresh impact craters at the meter and sub-meter level with fragmented materials inside and around it can indeed be observed (Figure 5). Based on the inference of the long axis direction of the elliptical impact craters, these fresh impact craters should be secondary impact craters formed by the sputtering of the Vega impact crater.

Based on the above analysis, this study believes that the stones observed by the “Yutu-2” lunar rover actually originated from the ancient Finsen impact crater. They were originally buried in the lunar soil in the landing area. Later, they were impacted by the spatter of the Vega impact crater. Excavated and exposed to the moon’s surface. The dating of the Vega crater reveals that these rocks have existed on the lunar surface for about 16 million years (Figure 6).

Achievement source:

Dr. Sheng Sheng, Researcher Di Kaichang, Researcher Yue Zongyu, State Key Laboratory of Remote Sensing Science, Institute of Aerospace Information Innovation, Chinese Academy of Sciences

Images and visual are from Weibo..

#CNSA #ChinaNationalSpaceAdministration #國家航天局 |#BeltAndRoadinitiative #March2021 |#火星 # 天問 #天问一号#TianwenOne #MarsMission #Marslander #MarsRover #Tianwen1 probe is Mooring orbital #Planet #Mars …….

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天问一号飞運騎遊達达3亿 ….As of 17th  March 2021, CNSA – China National Space Administration- ESA – European Space agency Belt and road initiative mars mission…first Mars exploration mission, Tianwen- Martian Probe One ……. Tianwen-1 is currently in the mooring orbital phase, and all seven orbiter payloads have been powered on for preliminary scientific exploration, to achieve stable communication between the Earth and Mars, and to provide signal relay services for future patrols landing on Mars. Every two days, it arrives at a near-fire point, only about 280 kilometers away from Mars………

 The medium-resolution camera, high-resolution camera, and spectrometer in the payload will pre-select the topography and landforms of the low-latitude landing area such as the southern Utopia Plain. , Sand and dust weather, etc. to conduct detailed investigations to assess the feasibility of the Martian environment and landing timing……

After 3 months of detailed surveys, the orbiter will undergo a certain orbit adjustment and be separated from the lander/patrol unit. The latter will start an independent Mars landing process of about 7 minutes. Due to the long distance between Mars and the Earth, which leads to a communication delay of tens of minutes, it is impossible for the CNSA crew to control the landing process, and must let the lander complete this “black seven-minute” journey fully autonomously…..

 

Previously…..   天问一号飞運騎遊達达3亿 …….As of the afternoon Chinese Lunar New Year festival week holidays afternoon 4th March 2021, CNSA – China National Space Administration- ESA – European Space agency Belt and road initiative mars mission…first Mars exploration mission, Tianwen- Martian Probe One released three high-definition Mars image maps taken by China – People’s Republic of China first Mars exploration mission Tianwen-1 probe, including two full-color images and one color image……

The panchromatic image was taken by a high-resolution camera at an altitude of about 330 kilometers to 350 kilometers from the surface of Mars, with a resolution of about 0.7 meters. In the imaging area, small ring craters, ridges, sand dunes and other landforms on the surface of Mars are clearly visible. The diameter of the largest impact crater is about 620 meters. The color image was taken by a medium-resolution camera, and the picture shows the north pole of Mars.

Starting on February 26 2021, Tianwen-1 has carried out scientific exploration in the parked orbit, and scientific payloads such as the orbiter high-resolution camera, medium-resolution camera, and mineral spectrometer have been turned on one after another to obtain scientific data. The high-resolution camera on the orbiter is equipped with two imaging detectors, which can realize linear array push-broom and area array imaging, and carry out fine observation of topography and landforms in key areas. The medium-resolution camera has the functions of automatic exposure and remote control of exposure adjustment, and can draw global remote sensing image maps of Mars to detect the topography and changes of Mars Tianwen No.1 probe shoots high-definition Mars image…..

Black-and-white or color photos are related to the shooting mode. The high-resolution camera photos are taken by the linear array push sweep method when the detector is running on a large elliptical orbit. They are divided into full color, color, and custom. The full-color (i.e. black and white) image is the clearest, the data volume is the largest, and the scientific value is the highest. The definition of a color image is a quarter of that of a full-color image. After the image fusion processing of panchromatic and color mode, a clear and beautiful color image will be obtained. The medium-resolution camera has only one static shooting mode, which is to use the “gaze” shooting mode, so that the camera has been “gazing” at a certain area, and the overall resolution will be relatively low.

Previously天问一号飞運騎遊達达3亿 …….As of the afternoon Chinese Lunar New Year festival week holidays afternoon 24th February 2021, CNSA – China National Space Administration- ESA – European Space agency Belt and road initiative mars mission…first Mars exploration mission, Tianwen- Martian Probe One  …… At 6:29 on February 24, 2021, the first Mars exploration mission Tianwen-1 probe successfully implemented the third near-fire braking, entering the near-fire point of 280 kilometers, the far-fire point of 59,000 kilometers, and the cycle of 2 Mars. Mars moored orbit on the day. The probe will run on the berth orbit for about three months, and all seven orbiter loads will be turned on and scientific exploration will begin. At the same time, the medium-resolution cameras, high-resolution cameras, and spectrometers in the payload will conduct detailed investigations of the topography, landforms, sand and dust weather in the pre-selected landing area, and prepare for landing on Mars.

Since its successful launch on July 23, 2020, the Tianwen-1 probe has been in orbit for 215 days and is currently 212 million kilometers away from the earth. On February 10, 2021, the probe entered the ring fire orbit, implemented the far-fire point orbit plane maneuver on February 15, and implemented the second near-fire brake on February 20. The current equipment is in normal state and various flight controls Work is proceedingly normally.

Images and visuals are from Weibo …