China’s national space agency made history on January 2 by landing its Chang’e-4 probe on the far side of the moon. The postcards it has sent back so far are pretty nice.
The Chang’e-4 probe is the latest effort by the China National Space Administration to explore the surface of the moon, which started in 2007 with the Chang’e-1 orbiter, followed in 2010 by the Chang’e-2 orbiter, and in 2013 with the Chang’e-3 lander, which successfully touched down on the near side of the moon. State media reports that Chang’e-4’s mission includes “low-frequency radio astronomical observation, surveying the terrain and landforms, detecting the mineral composition and shallow lunar surface structure, and measuring neutron radiation and neutral atoms.”
Onboard the Chang’e-4 was a rover, Yutu-2, and Chang’e-4 sent back some video of the little rover exploring the moon’s surface, near the lander. It’s no Wall-e, but it’s a start.
Slightly better version of Yutu II roving about (in a sciency way)
ℹ：https://t.co/Ar57FjhGgz pic.twitter.com/wMyDfBJ3rr
— LaunchStuff (@LaunchStuff) January 11, 2019
While you’re here, watch Chang-e 4’s landing on the dark side of the moon, too, in this footage released by the China National Space Administration on Friday. If you start Pink Floyd’s Dark Side of the Moon right when you start the video, they totally sync up, man:
https://youtu.be/GwDYN5J5chA
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