China launched its first lunar probe early Monday, which, if a success, will make it only the third nation to soft-land on the moon. The Chang'e-3 blasted off from a Long March 3B rocket in Sichuan province and is expected to land on the surface of the moon surface in mid-December. This latest space effort comes just over a decade after the country first sent an astronaut into space.
Unlike the soft-landing of the U.S. and the U.S.S.R.'s unmanned spacecraft, Chang'e-3 will be able to survey the landscape first and determine a safe spot. Researchers say an impact crater named Sinus Iridum, or Bay of Rainbows, is its likely destination.
On landing, the spacecraft will release Jade Rabbit -- a six-wheeled lunar rover equipped with four cameras and two mechanical legs that can dig up soil samples. Reports say the slow-moving rover will patrol the moon's surface for at least three months.
In the U.S., scientists are concerned the Chinese mission could interfere with a NASA study of the moon's dust environment. Chang'e-3's descent will probably create a noticeable plume on the moon's surface that could skew the results of research already being carried out by NASA's Lunar Atmosphere and Dust Environment Explorer (LADEE). |