See you on the far side of the moon: NASA's lunar orbiter captures first look at the landing site of China's Chang'e 4 probe
- Chang'e 4 probe landed on far side of the moon Jan 3 in a historic first, and has been sending back updates
- NASA’s Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter has spotted it sitting in its landing site in the lunar Von Kármán crater
- At the time, the orbiting craft was 205 miles (330 kilometers) from the landing site, and lander appears tiny
A NASA spacecraft orbiting the moon has captured our first glimpse at the lone robotic lander on the far side of the moon.
China landed the Chang’e 4 probe on the floor of the 116-mile-wide (186 kilometers) Von Kármán crater on January 3 in a historic accomplishment.
But in the time since, all updates have come from the mission's own point of view.
NASA’s Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter has now spotted Chang’e sitting in its landing site, offering the first external look at the faraway probe – but, the tiny lander only makes up two pixels in the long-range shot.
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At the time it captured the photo, NASA's orbiting craft was 205 miles (330 kilometers) from the landing site. NASA has annotated the photo with arrows in effort to highlight the tiny lunar lander (circled in red above)
The Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO) captured the latest image a month after Chang’e 4 landed on the far side of the moon.
At the time, the orbiting craft was 205 miles (330 kilometers) from the landing site.
NASA has annotated the photo with arrows in effort to highlight the tiny lunar lander.
Much more visible is the west wall of Von Kármán crater, which stands more than 9,850 feet (3,000 meters) above the surface.
China's lunar lander woke up from a freezing two-week-long hibernation last week to find night-time temperatures on the moon's dark side are colder than previously thought.
The Chang'e-4 probe -- named after a Chinese moon goddess -- made the first ever soft landing on the far side of the moon on January 3, a major step in China's ambitions to become a space superpower.
The Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO) captured the latest image a month after Chang’e 4 landed on the far side of the moon
Temperatures on the moon's surface plummeted to minus 190 degrees celsius (-310 degrees Fahrenheit) during the probe's first lunar night, which 'was colder than scientists expected,' the China National Space Administration (CNSA) said.
The night-time temperatures were recorded by the Chinese probe after it became active on January 30, following a slumber that lasted for about two earth weeks.
They were lower than those recorded by previous US missions to the near side of the moon, Zhang He, executive director of the Chang'e-4 mission, told Xinhua news agency.
'That's probably due to the difference in lunar soil composition between the two sides of the moon,' he said.
A rover released from the probe -- dubbed Yutu-2 (Jade Rabbit) after the moon goddess's pet -- also resumed operations 'as planned' on January 29 and will perform experiments in the Von Karman Crater, CNSA said in a statement.
Chang'e-4 is equipped with instruments developed by scientists from Sweden, Germany and China.
It is tasked with studying the lunar environment, cosmic radiation and the interaction between solar wind and the moon's surface.
The probe will now continue with it's experiments, CNSA said.
The freezing night-time temperatures were recorded by the Chinese Chang'e-4 probe after it became active. The Yutu-2 rover resumed operations and will perform experiments in the Von Karman Crater, China's space agency said
Scientific instruments on board China's previous Chang'e-3 moon mission, sent in late 2013, have withstood over 60 lunar nights and are still in operation, Xinhua said.
The Chang'e 4 lander even spent some time at the beginning of its stay growing plants on the moon in a first-ever milestone.
The mission started growing plants on the moon shortly after its historic arrival to the previously unexplored area.
Cotton seeds could be seen sprouting in a photo released by the China National Space Administration (CNSA).
Just one day after revealing the success, however, China said its lunar cotton seedling were as good as dead.
The state-run publication Xinhua News said the groundbreaking experiment ended with the onset of a two-week-long lunar night following its short-lived stint inside a specially-designed biosphere habitat.
The Chang'e 4 lander even spent some time at the beginning of its stay growing plants on the moon in a first-ever milestone. The mission started growing plants on the moon shortly after its historic arrival to the previously unexplored area. Its first sprouts, which did not survive lunar night, are shown
The dying plants will eventually decompose inside the canister, where they will not pose any threats to the lunar environment, according to the China National Space Administration.
Chinese scientists involved in the mission have also revealed that the US is planning its own mission to the far side of the moon – and they’ve asked to borrow a Chinese craft to help get there.
According to South China Morning Post , NASA recently asked China to extend the lifespan of the Queqiao relay satellite so it could be used to plan a US lunar landing.
‘We asked the Americans why they wanted our relay satellite to operate longer,’ chief scientist Wu Weiren told state broadcaster CCTV.
‘They said, perhaps feeling a little embarrassed, that they wanted to make use of our relay satellite when they make their own mission to the far side of the moon.’
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