Tag: Lunar Exploration

#CNSA #ChinaNationalSpaceAdministration #国家航天局 |#BeltAndRoadinitiative #CLEP #July2022 | #VonKarmanCrater #LunarMission #Change4 #Yutu2 travelling 1239.88 meters on #LunaExploration reveal the secrets of the Antarctic-Aiken Basin ……

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As of Month of 7th July 2022, The CNSA –China National Space Administration CLEP- China Lunar Exploration Program  Belt and Road Initiative Lunar Mission……Chang’e-4 with Yutu two the Lunar rover still working exploring more than moved more than 1239.88  meters on the other side of the moon on the 103 Kilometers Diameter Von Karman Crater in which is least than two length by length fifty five Kilometers Hong Kong –Macau- Zhuhai Bridges …. Working Exploring the Crater on the other side of the Moon Chang’e Luna…. Chang’e-4 completed the 44th day of work, and the results revealed the cause of the abnormal area of ​​​​the Moon’s South Pole-Aiken ….composition travelling The “Yutu 2” lunar rover and lander of the Chang’e The total mileage of the lunar rover on the far side of the moon is 1239.88 meters

In which Chang’e-4 research results reveal the secrets of the Antarctic-Aiken Basin The cause of the abnormal area of ​​composition…..

The South Pole-Aiken Basin is the largest impact basin on the Moon, with a diameter of over 2,400 kilometers. The study of the South Pole-Aiken Basin is of great significance for revealing the origin of the lunar asymmetry, the impact process, the early evolution process and the composition of the deep material. Orbital remote sensing observations show that there is a compositional anomaly in the center of the Antarctic-Aiken Basin. The planetary science team of Shandong University analyzed and interpreted the in-situ visible and near-infrared spectral data of the Yutu-2 lunar rover and found that the lunar crust is the Antarctic-Aiken composition anomaly. The main material source provides important constraints for the future exploration of materials in the Antarctic-Aiken Basin and even the deep parts of the moon.


​The main material components on the lunar The material composition at the bottom of the South Pole-Aiken Basin is abnormal, and the content of mafic silicate minerals and iron is significantly higher than that in the peripheral area of ​​the basin (Figure 1).

Figure 1. The distribution of iron and pyroxene content inside and outside the Antarctic-Aiken Basin

Most of the previous studies on the material composition of the Antarctic-Aiken Basin only focused on mafic minerals. Due to the anomalous characteristics of mafic in this region, there has even been a debate about whether the lunar mantle is peridotite or pyroxene. Although according to the lunar magma ocean hypothesis, olivine and pyroxene are the main minerals of the lunar mantle, the plutonic magma intrusion after the formation of the lunar crust can also form rocks rich in olivine or pyroxene in the lunar crust, so olivine is enriched Or pyroxene does not serve as evidence of origin from the lunar mantle. So far, humans have not obtained samples from the Antarctic-Aiken Basin and returned to Earth, and their trace elements and isotopic characteristics cannot be known. Among the material composition information available through remote sensing or in situ detection, the plagioclase content also distinguishes crust-derived and mantle-derived rocks. key indicators.

Figure 2. Mineral composition and source reservoir of Chang’e-4 landing area

​The content of plagioclase in the material of the Antarctic-Aiken composition anomaly area sputtered by the Finsen
Numerical simulation studies believe that during the excavation process of the South Pole-Aiken impact, the lunar crust has been completely stripped, but in the subsequent transformation stage, the collapse of the instantaneous crater wall may cause the lunar crustal material to slip off the bottom of the basin. In addition, other basin impact events after the Antarctic-Aiken impact event also produced a backfilling effect on the bottom of the Antarctic-Aiken Basin, and the exposed lunar mantle material or impact melting products during the formation of the basin is likely to have been diluted by the lunar crust material. Mineralogical and geochemical unmixing analysis results show that the lunar soil on the surface of the anomalous area is composed of about 70% of the lunar crust material and about 30% of the material enriched in iron and incompatible elements.

The first author of this research is postdoctoral fellow Chen Jian of Shandong University, and the corresponding author is Professor Ling Zongcheng, head of the planetary science team of Shandong University and senior researcher of the Center for Excellence in Comparative Planetology, Chinese Academy of Sciences. It was published in The Astrophysical Journal Letters, an international astronomy journal …..

Images and visuals are from their Respectives source CLEP – China Lunar Exploration Project

#CNSA #ChinaNationalSpaceAdministration #国家航天局 |#BeltAndRoadinitiative #CLEP #June2022 | #VonKarmanCrater #LunarMission #Change4 #Yutu2 #ChineseAcademyOfSciences Research Reveals the Constraints of the Chang’e-4 Infrared Imaging Spectroscopic Ground Validation Experiment on the Material Composition of the Lunar SPA Surface…

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As of Month of April 2022, The CNSA –China National Space Administration CLEP- China Lunar Exploration Program  Belt and Road Initiative Lunar Mission……Chang’e-4 with Yutu two the Lunar rover still working exploring more than moved more than 1142.39 meters on the other side of the moon on the 103 Kilometers Diameter Von Karman Crater in which is least than two length by length fifty five Kilometers Hong Kong –Macau- Zhuhai Bridges …. Working Exploring the Crater on the other side of the Moon Chang’e Luna….

On 27th June 2022 the Chinese Academy of Sciences Research Reveals the Constraints of the Chang’e-4 Infrared Imaging Spectroscopic Ground Validation Experiment on the Material Composition of the Lunar SPA Surface

The Infrared Imaging Spectrometer (VNIS) on the Yutu No. 2 Lunar Rover has measured infrared imaging spectral data at multiple locations along the rover’s walking route. VNIS is the main method used to study the composition of lunar soil and lunar surface rocks in the landing area and to trace their origin. The research of the Institute of Geology and Earth Sciences, Chinese Academy of Sciences revealed the constraints on the composition of the lunar SPA surface by the Chang’e-4 infrared imaging spectroscopy ground verification experiment.

The Yutu-2 rover has been working on the lunar surface for more than 40 months, and the infrared imaging spectrometer (VNIS) it carried has measured infrared imaging spectral data at multiple locations along the rover’s walking route. VNIS is the main method used to study the composition of lunar soil and lunar surface rocks in the landing area and to trace their origin. However, factors such as space weathering, particle size and multiple scattering, the spectral response of the instrument, and observation conditions all affect the spectral characteristics and lead to large uncertainties in the mineral composition calculated from the lunar surface spectral data.

　　In order to quantitatively evaluate the reliability of different VNIS data processing methods, Chang Rui, a doctoral student in the Key Laboratory of Earth and Planetary Physics, Institute of Geology and Geophysics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, under the guidance of his supervisor researcher Yang Wei and associate researcher Lin Honglei, selected a mineral composition with Spectroscopic ground verification experiments were performed on the Suchang-gabbro with similar lunar highland rocks (Fig. 1). The rock (CR-1) studied by the ground verification experiment has an actual mineral pattern content of 12.9% olivine, 35.0% pyroxene and 52.2% plagioclase, as measured by scanning electron microscopy. In order to more accurately calculate the spectral results of CR-1, the researchers ground and sorted the olivine, low-calcium pyroxene, high-calcium pyroxene and plagioclase from the rock samples in CR-1. -4, ASD) to measure the visible-near-infrared spectral results of each single mineral (Fig. 2a), and each single mineral has its own spectral absorption characteristics. The spectrum of CR-1 measured by the VNIS identifier showed distinct absorption features at the 971 (±1) nm and 1957 (±8) nm bands (Fig. 2b). This absorption feature is similar to the rock absorption feature detected by VNIS on the Yutu-2 rover on the third day of the month. The Hapke model of the VNIS spectrum of CR-1 calculated the mineral pattern content of the sample to be 7.5% olivine, 39.3% pyroxene and 53.2% plagioclase, which were consistent with the true results within the error range.

　　According to the data processing method in this study combined with the photometric correction of the Chang’e-4 lunar surface data by Yang et al. (2020), the more accurate mineral model content of the rocks detected by the Yutu-2 rover on the third day should be 11.7 % olivine, 42.8% pyroxene and 45.5% plagioclase. The rover found another lunar surface rock on the 26th day with spectral absorption characteristics similar to those found on the 3rd day, with mineral pattern contents of 3.2% olivine, 24.6% pyroxene, and 72.2% plagioclase. The two lunar surface rocks belong to the sutraite category in the “Anorthosite-Norite-Troctolite” (ANT) system (Fig. 3) (Heiken G, 1991), which means that the Chang’e-4 landing area lunar The rock formations under the soil are mainly ANT rocks. The rocks detected by the Yutu-2 rover on the 26th day contained more plagioclase and were closer to the mineral composition of the average lunar crust.

　　To sum up, the lunar surface of the Chang’e-4 landing area has su-long and plagio-like rocks, which represent the material formed by the rapid crystallization in the impact melting pool and the composition of the average lunar crust, respectively. On the one hand, an impact event excavated material from the underlying layers of lunar soil to the lunar surface. These excavated materials have the characteristics of crystalline plutonic rocks in the molten pool of the South Pole Aitken Basin (SPA). On the other hand, the initial lunar crustal material formed before the SPA big impact event can also be retained in the SPA.

　　The related research results were published in Remote Sensing . The research work has been funded by the Strategic Pilot Science and Technology Project of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, the Key Deployment Project of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, the Innovation Interdisciplinary Team of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, the Civil Aerospace Pre-research Project of the National Space Administration, and the Key Deployment Project of the Institute of Geology and Geophysics of the Chinese Academy of Sciences.

Figure 1. (a) The image of the lunar surface rock detected by Chang’e-4 on the third month; (b) the spectral detection status of the lunar surface rock (the yellow circle represents the near-infrared spectral detection field); (c) the ground verification of this study The rock used in the experiment (CR-1)

Figure 2. (a) Visible-NIR spectra of single minerals in CR-1; (b) VNIS spectra of rocks and CR-1 measured on the third day of Chang’e-4

Fig. 3. Mineral composition distribution of olivine-pyroxene-plagioclase in lunar surface rocks measured by Chang’e-4 (Heiken G, 1991). The lunar sample sampling points are marked in the figure, for example: A-11 is Apollo 11, L-16 is Luna 16, (H) and (M) represent high ground and lunar soil, respectively

Images and visuals are from their Respectives source Chinese Academy of Sciences .. 52 Sanlihe Rd., Xicheng District, Beijing, China (100864)- People’s Republic of China.

#CNSA #ChinaNationalSpaceAdministration #国家航天局 |#BeltAndRoadinitiative #June2022 | #嫦娥五号#CLEP The #Moon #Change5 #LunarMission #MonsRumker #LunaExploration Announcement The new results reveal the distribution characteristics of lunar surface water in the landing area. The lunar soil contains water in the form of hydroxyl groups …

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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.……  

[The new results of Chang’e 5 reveal the distribution characteristics of lunar surface water in the landing area. The lunar soil contains water in the form of hydroxyl groups]

On June 15, “Nature Communications” published an important research result of my country’s Chang’e 5 online.
Whether there is water on the moon, how much water there is, what form of water it is, and where the water comes from is controversial, and it has always been a research hotspot in lunar science. At the beginning of the Chang’e-5 mission project demonstration, the research team proposed to extend the spectral range of the lunar mineral spectrometer on the lander to 3.2 μm, and realized the first in-situ detection of the spectral absorption characteristics of lunar surface water in the world. In order to avoid the impact of the dynamic “water” (hydroxyl OH) when the engine plume and the solar wind bombard the lunar surface on the in-situ spectral analysis, the research team carefully designed the timing of acquiring the in-situ detection spectral data. The detection timing was selected 6 hours after landing to avoid the influence of the engine plume composition when the CE-5 probe landed; The dynamic “water” of the lunar surface; the moon (landing zone) is under the protection of the earth’s magnetic field during the spectral measurement, which shields the solar wind and avoids the dynamic “water” (hydroxyl OH) factor produced by the bombardment of the solar wind. In this environment, the Chang’e-5 spectrometer can obtain a “clean” absorption spectrum of “water”. After strict correction and analysis, the research team found that the lunar soil in the Chang’e-5 landing area obviously contains “water” in the form of hydroxyl groups. But the average content is low, only about 30ppm.



At present, it is believed that there are three main sources of lunar “water”: one is (dynamic) hydroxyl substances produced by the interaction between solar wind particles and lunar surface materials; the other is water and hydroxyl-containing substances brought by comets or meteorites that hit the moon; Lunar primary (internal) water. After the lunar samples were returned to Earth, the research team conducted a systematic analysis of the returned lunar samples in the laboratory. The laboratory spectral analysis once again verified the clear existence of hydroxy water, but the research on the existence form, content and source of “water” requires detailed research. Mineral petrological analysis. The Apollo lunar sample study believes that the (impact) cemented glass in the lunar soil contains hydroxyl substances formed by the long-term injection of the solar wind, and the content of cemented glass is an important factor affecting the “water” content in the lunar sample. Laboratory analysis of the returned samples showed that the Chang’e 5 lunar sample is a type of young basalt with a very small content of cemented glass (less than 16%), which is only 1/3 of the Apollo 11 lunar sample, so it is estimated that the Chang’e 5 lunar soil sample The “water” from the solar wind injected into the cemented glass is not more than 18ppm. At the same time, the foreign impact sputters in the lunar soil samples of the Chang’e-5 landing area are very low, and their contribution to “water” can be ignored. Therefore, there must be primary water originating from the interior of the moon in the Chang’e-5 lunar soil samples. Laboratory analysis of the Chang’e-5 lunar samples found at least one hydrous mineral, hydroxyapatite, whose content was uneven, ranging from 0 ppm to 179 ppm (average about 17 ppm) in equivalent samples of hydroxy water, proving that The presence of “water” from the magma crystallization process in the Chang’e-5 lunar soil samples indicates that “water” not only existed, but also played a very important role in the late lunar magmatic activity.


The lunar in-situ detection spectral data of this research result were obtained by the Lunar Mineral Spectrum Analyzer developed by the Shanghai Institute of Technical Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences. The operation management, data reception and processing of the scientific detection load were carried out by the National Astronomical Observatory of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (Lunar Exploration Engineering Ground Application System).

Via CNSA China Space Administration –CLEP China Lunar Exploration project management office

#CNSA #ChinaNationalSpaceAdministration #国家航天局 |#BeltAndRoadinitiative #April2022 | #嫦娥五号#CLEP The #Moon #Change5 #LunarMission #MonsRumker #LunaExploration Announcement on the release of the fourth batch of lunar scientific research samples…

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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.……  

​​On the 15th April 2022 Friday, Issuing  it’s the Lunar Exploration and Aerospace Engineering Center (Lunar Sample Management Office) organized the fourth lunar scientific research sample loan application review meeting in Beijing. After review by the expert committee and the Lunar Exploration and Aerospace Engineering Center, 37 applications submitted by 18 responsible persons from 11 scientific research institutions were approved, totaling 8.768g. The specific list is as follows: The public can visit the CNSA China National Space AdministrationCLEP China Lunar Exploration and Deep Space Exploration Network http://www.clep.org.cn, enter the Lunar and Deep Space Exploration Scientific Data and Sample Release System, obtain relevant information, and apply for scientific research samples. 

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      

#CNSA #ChinaNationalSpaceAdministration #国家航天局 |#BeltAndRoadinitiative #CLEP #April2022 | #VonKarmanCrater #LunarMission #Change4 #Yutu2 Lunar adventuring the latest research results of Chang’e-4 featured on #ScienceRobotics #ScientificExploration …..

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As of Month of April 2022, The CNSA –China National Space Administration CLEP- China Lunar Exploration Program  Belt and Road Initiative Lunar Mission……Chang’e-4 with Yutu two the Lunar rover still working exploring more than moved 1142.39 meters on the other side of the moon on the 103 Kilometers Diameter Von Karman Crater in which is least than two length by length fifty five Kilometers Hong Kong –Macau- Zhuhai Bridges …. Working Exploring the Crater on the other side of the Moon Chang’e Luna….

Figure 1 The trajectory of the “Yutu” 2 lunar rover (cover of Science Robotics magazine)

​​ The latest research results of Chang’e-4 …..At the beginning of 2022, by the State Key Laboratory of Robotics and Systems of Harbin Institute of Technology, Beijing Aerospace Flight Control Center, State Key Laboratory of Remote Sensing Science, Institute of Aeronautical and Astronautical Information, Chinese Academy of Sciences, China Academy of Space Technology, Ryerson University in Canada, etc. A number of units cooperated and published the title of “A 2-year locomotive exploration and scientific investigation of the lunar farside by the Yutu-2 rover” in the internationally renowned academic journal “Science Robotics”. and Scientific Exploration)” cover paper.

Fig. 2 Analysis of physical and mechanical properties of lunar soil based on “Yutu” 2 wheel-earth interaction

The team estimated the mechanical properties of the lunar soil based on the information on the interaction between the lunar rover wheel and the lunar surface and the ground mechanical model. The results show that the pressure-bearing properties of the lunar soil regolith are similar to the dry sand and sandy loam on the earth, and are similar to those in the American Apollo program. Compared with typical lunar soil, it has stronger pressure bearing characteristics. Large lumps of soil were observed adhering to the wheels of “Yutu 2” in images from different locations, while the wheels of “Yutu 2” basically had no clay phenomenon, indicating that the lunar soil cohesion near the landing area of ​​Chang’e 4 is relatively large , the reason may be that it contains a higher proportion of aggregates, which makes soil particles more likely to agglomerate after being rolled by wheels.

Figure 3 The impact craters and rocks discovered by the “Yutu-2” observation

The research is based on my country’s lunar exploration missions and faces engineering scientific issues. The relevant results can provide theoretical and technical support for future lunar exploration missions. This research was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (51822502, 91948202, 41771488), the National Key Research and Development Program (2019YFB1309500), and the “111” Innovation and Talent Introducing Program (BP0719002). The link to the original publication of the results: https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/scirobotics.abj6660
At present, Chang’e-4 is on the 41st night of the moon. The rover has moved 1142.39 meters, and the two devices and one satellite are in good condition.

Images and visuals are from Chinese lunar exploration project  CNSA- China National Space Administration also from their respectives…!