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Chang'e 3
Sign in to savelunar exploration mission operated by the China National Space Administration
Key facts
- Mission type
- Lander and rover
- Operator
- CNSA
- Cospar id
- 2013-070A
- Mission duration
- Lander : 1 year (planned) 12 years, 184 days (elapsed) Rover : 3 months (planned) 2 years, 230 days (final)
- Manufacturer
- China Academy of Space Technology (CAST)
- Bol mass
- 3,780 kg (8,330 lb)
- Landing mass
- 1,200 kg (2,600 lb), Rover: 140 kg (310 lb)
- Dimensions
- Rover: 1.5 m (4.9 ft) long, 1.0 m high
- Launch date
- 17:30, 1 December 2013 (UTC) ( 2013-12-01T17:30:00Z )
- Rocket
- Long March 3B Y-23
- Launch site
- Xichang LC-2
- Contractor
- CALT
- Spacecraft component
- Chang'e 3
- Landing date
- 13:11, 14 December 2013 (UTC) ( 2013-12-14T13:11:00Z )
- Landing site
- Mare Imbrium
- Distance driven
- 114.8 m (377 ft)
via Wikipedia infobox
~18 min read
Encyclopedic overview
Chang'e 3 ( /tʃæŋˈʌ/; Chinese: 嫦娥三号; pinyin: Cháng'é Sānhào; lit. 'Chang'e No. 3') is a robotic lunar exploration mission operated by the China National Space Administration (CNSA), incorporating a robotic lander and China's first lunar rover. It was launched in December 2013 as part of the second phase of the Chinese Lunar Exploration Program. The mission's chief commander was Ma Xingrui.
The spacecraft was named after Chang'e, the goddess of the Moon in Chinese mythology, and is a follow-up to the Chang'e 1 and Chang'e 2 lunar orbiters. The rover was named Yutu (Chinese: 玉兔; lit. 'Jade Rabbit') following an online poll, after the mythological rabbit that lives on the Moon as a pet of the Moon goddess.
Excerpted from Wikipedia’s “Chang'e 3” article, available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 licence.