2024-06-20 11:00:12
NASA’s Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO) has captured images of China’s Chang’e 6 module on the far side of the Moon.
Credit: NASA/GSFC/Arizona State University
The Chang’e 6 module, located near two similarly sized craters and at the rim of a more subtle 50-meter-wide crater, was spotted by LRO on June 7, 2024 in the Apollo basin.
The LRO team calculated the coordinates of the landing site at approximately 41.6 degrees north latitude and 206 degrees west latitude. longitude is, with a horizontal accuracy of plus or minus 30 meters. The disturbances caused by the module’s engines increased the brightness of the surrounding terrain, a phenomenon already observed with other lunar landers.
Chang’e 6 landed on a “sea” of cooled volcanic rock south of Apollo Basin. This region, south of Chaffee S Crater, saw eruptions of basaltic lava about 3.1 billion years ago. This lava flowed eastward until it encountered a local topographic high, likely related to a fault.
The Chang’e 6 mission, launched on May 3 from Hainan Province in China, aims to bring back samples from the far side of the Moon. After collecting these precious lunar materials, the part carrying the cargo left the surface June 3.
This image from the orbiter’s camera lunar NASA’s Chang’e 6 module shows China’s Apollo 6 module in the Apollo docking station on the far side of the moon, June 7, 2024. The module is visible as a small cluster of bright pixels in the center of the image.
Credit: NASA/GSFC/Arizona State University
The return segment is scheduled to land on Earth around June 25, parachuting into a pre-determined area in Siziwang Banner, Inner Mongolia. The return will mark the end of a 53-day mission.
1721773800
#NASA #Photographs #Chinas #Change #Moon #Lander
