Chang'e 2

Launch data: Designation  37174 / 10050A Launch date  01 Oct 2010 - 10:59:57 UT Launch site  Xichang Launch vehicle  CZ-3C Mission  Lunar probe Earth orbit on Oct 1.46:    - Perigee / Apogee  263 x 276 km    - Eccentricity  0.001    - Inclination  29.19°    - Period  89.54 min Heliocentric orbit on Oct 9: Perihelion / Aphelion  100 x 100 km moon orbit Eccentricity   Inclination   deg Period   min

Spacecraft data: Prime contractor   Operator   Platform  DFH-3 Comsat bus Mass at launch  2300 kg (full) Dry Mass   kg Basic shape  Box + 2 panels Dimensions (m)   Solar array   Stabilization   DC power   Design lifetime

Descriptions:

• Chang′e 2 spacecraft is China′s second lunar mission. Expanding on the goals of the Chang′e 1 mission, its will act as a technical test satellite for future Chinese lunar missions. Its principal objectives are to return high resolution images of the lunar surface to aid in selection of a future landing site for the Chang'e 3 lander and rover mission. A key technology for soft-landing on the Moon will also be tested.
• Chang′e 2 was designed as a backup satellite for the Chang′e 1 spacecraft based on the DFH-3 Comsat bus. It has been modified for its current mission. The spacecraft will carry a CCD stereo camera with spatial resolution of 10 m from the nominal 100 km altitude. A laser altimeter with a laser pulse frequency of 5 Hz and a radial accuracy of 5 m will also be mounted on the spacecraft.
• The Chang'e program is named for a Chinese legend about a young fairy who flies to the Moon.

Mission details:

• China&primme;s second lunar probe was launched on Oct 1, 2010. On Oct 6 at around 0314 UTC it entered a 119 x 8599 km lunar orbit (info from nasaspaceflight.com). By Oct 9 it was in a 100 x 100 km orbit around the Moon. Towards the end of the mission the orbit will be lowered to 15 km x 100 km to test the tracking ability of a new X-band ground tracking system.
  
  

  This photo, taken by China's Chang′e 2 lunar probe in October 2010, shows a crater in the moon′s Bay of Rainbows. The image is one of the first released to the public by China′s space agency.

  China′s Chang′e 2 orbiter captured detailed imagery of the Bay of Rainbows, the proposed landing site for the country's first lunar lander.

  
  
• Chang′e-2 probe left lunar orbit on Jun 9, 2011 and arrived at the Sun-Earth L2 point on Aug 25, 2011.
  

  This graphic from the China Lunar Exploration Program shows the progress of China′s Chang′e 2 moon probe from its lunar orbit out to the L2 Lagrange point 1.5 million km from Earth. Credit: CSLEP

  
  
• China′s Chang′e-2 space probe made a remarkable 3.2 km flyby of minor planet (4179) Toutatis on Dec 13, 2012 at 0830:09 UTC and returned images of the asteroid.
  Chang'e-2 is in a 1.02 x 1.03 AU x 0.2 deg solar orbit.
  
  

  Flight profile of Chang′e-2 satellite (image credit: CAST

  
  

External links:

• EOportal.org Satellite description

Astrophilately covers:

Launch cancel