China Unveils First Moon Photos From New Lunar Orbiter

[Marduk2012 Profile]

China Unveils First Moon Photos From New Lunar Orbiter

China's space program has released the first moon photos taken by the country's second lunar probe Chang'e 2, an unmanned spacecraft scouting out potential sites for a planned robotic lunar landing mission in 2013.

The pictures were taken by Chang'e 2 at the end of October, according to the AFP news agency. They show an area in the moon's northern hemisphere known as Sinus Iridium (Bay of Rainbows), revealing it to be relatively flat area with craters and rocks of various sizes, according to media reports. China released the pictures with much fanfare today (Nov. 8) and posted five of new Chang'e 2 moon photos on the China Lunar Exploration Program website. Premier Wen Jiabao officially unveiled them at a ceremony in Beijiing, and Vice Premier Zhang Dejiang read out a statement, according to China's official Xinhua news agency.



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.



This 3-D map view of the moon's Bay of Rainbows was taken by China's Chang'e 2 lunar probe in October 2010. The mission is China's second robotic mission to explore the moon.



This photo, taken by China's Chang'e 2 lunar probe in October 2010, shows a three-dimensional map of part of the moon's Bay of Rainbows.


"The success of Chang'e 2 in accomplishing its mission marks another great achievement after the country successfully launched its first lunar probe," China's state-run Xinhua News Agency quoted Zhang as saying. "The Chinese people will unswervingly develop technologies for the exploration of deep space and the peaceful use of outer space." Chang'e 2 launched Oct. 1 and arrived in lunar orbit five days later. The probe is the second step in China's three-phase moon exploration program, which includes a series of unmanned missions to explore the lunar surface. The Chang'e 2 orbiter is scouting for possible landing sites for the Chang'e 3 spacecraft, which is scheduled to land on the moon in 2013, Xinhua reported. The Chang'e spacecraft are named after the nation's mythical moon goddess.


An artist's interpretation of China's Chang'e lunar orbiter.


According to media reports, the Chang'e 2 mission costs an estimated $134 million. Chang'e 2 will eventually swoop down to an orbit just 9 miles (15 km) above the lunar surface to take high-resolution pictures of landing areas for Chang'e 3, Xinhua has reported. The Chang'e 1 probe launched in October 2007 and conducted a 16-month moon observation mission, after which it crash-landed on the lunar surface by design, in March 2009. The Chang'e missions are just one prong of China's burgeoning space program, which has seen three successful manned spaceflights, including the nation's first spacewalk on the most recent mission, the Shenzhou 7 flight of 2008.

China hopes to return a moon rock to Earth by 2017 and launch a manned lunar mission by 2020, the AFP reported.

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[Lighthouse Profile]

Makes me wonder what they have discovered,
and how much of it they are willing to release, and when

[Marduk2012 Profile]

the images look a bit crappy in my oppinion...even apollo made better ones.

[Mumin Profile]

is there some kind of law/rule dictating that you are only allowed to take/publish pictures of the moon in black and white?

[Poooooot Profile]

is there some kind of law/rule dictating that you are only allowed to take/publish pictures of the moon in black and white?

I always just assumed that the moon was that grey color. lol

[Mumin Profile]

viewed from earth, the colours get faded to a uniform grey because there's earth's atmosphere in the way.
But up there, you'd see lots of shades of brown and grey etc. some places even blue and green, depending on mineral deposits.

edit: so basically, it's just sad, because these pictures could be so much nicer...

[Spamilee Profile]

is there some kind of law/rule dictating that you are only allowed to take/publish pictures of the moon in black and white?

I just thought they did it because the pic's are clearer & have better contrast... I'm probably wrong though

[Mumin Profile]

some samples.

here's a link to a pic:
http://www.steveirvine.com/astro/pixast/moon_colour.jpg


in the second picture, the colours are exaggerated, but you get the picture

[Stratosfear Profile]

From NASAs website. The colours have been exaggerated but shows the basic idea.

[Stratosfear Profile]

Ha! We appear to have posted at the same time.