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China probe meets Moon-based end

lro.jpgChina’s first lunar probe completed its mission on Sunday by smashing into the Moon and annihilating itself, says the China National Space Administration.

The Chang’e-1 probe – launched in 2007 – was the first part of China’s ambitious plans to put a rover on the Moon by 2013. Data from the impact will be used in the next stage of the plans: a soft landing by Chang’e-2, Wu Weiren, the probe’s chief designer told state media. Chang’e-3 will follow in 2013, says Xinhua:

The mission of Chang’e-3 is to make soft landing and probe the moon, said Ye [Peijian], a member of the 11th National Committee of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC), China’s top political advisory body.

Before the mission, Chang’e-2 will be launched at the latest in 2011 to test key technologies of soft landing and lower technical risks, he said.

Over on the Bad Astronomy blog Phil Plait is bemoaning the fact that of three orbiters currently buzzing the Moon two are Japanese and one is Indian, with no American Moon-bug in sight. As he acknowledges, NASA does have the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter in the works. Although the launch of this has now been delayed until 20 May, at the earliest.

“LRO had been scheduled to launch on April 24, but a domino effect of scheduling problems pushed the moon mapping effort deeper into spring,” says The Examiner. “The delay is the latest in a series of NASA hard-luck stories ranging from a grounded space shuttle to the loss of the Orbiting Carbon Observatory.”

This seems as good an opportunity as any to direct your attention once again to a personal favourite of the Great Beyond’s ‘Songs about the Moon’ piece: Everybody Gets To Go To The Moon.

Image: artist’s impression of LRO / NASA

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