More information has come to light about the mini-rover hitching a ride on China’s Chang’e 6 sample-return mission to the far side of the moon.
The small Chang’e 6 rover is called “Jinchan” and weighs about 11 pounds (5 kilograms), according to China ‘N Asia Spaceflight.
Carried by Chang’e 6 to the far side of the moonthe small vehicle rolled into position and broke a great photo of the lander and the outstretched robotic arm that collected lunar samples.
Autonomous and intelligent
In a recent storyAccording to state news agency Xinhua, Jinchan is an autonomous, intelligent mini-robot developed by the China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation (CASC).
“After Chang’e 6 the monsters on the far side of the moon“, Xinhua reported, “the mini-rover autonomously detached from the lander, moved to a suitable position, selected an ideal angle for the photo, and then captured the image.”
Main materials
Pre-launch images of the Chang’e 6 hardware show the four-wheeled mini-rover surprised many Chinese space observers.
A glimpse of information came later from a story via The Chinese Science Networkin which the presence of a Chang’e 6 lunar rover was noted.
According to the article, the Shanghai Institute of Ceramics of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (later called the Shanghai Silicate Institute) was responsible for the development of a number of important materials.
“The large-scale tellurium dioxide crystal developed by the Shanghai Silicate Institute has excellent acoustic and optical properties and is an important material for achieving a large field of view and high spatial and spectral resolution. It is used in the infrared imaging spectrometer of the Chang’e 6 lunar rover,” the story said.
“The ultrasonic motor is the ‘helper’ that presses the shutter for the infrared imaging spectrometer of the lunar rover ‘Chang’e Family’. Piezoelectric ceramics are the core material of the ultrasonic motor,” the story continues. “After Chang’e 3, 4 and 5, the wide temperature range and highly stable piezoelectric excitation element developed by Shanghai Silicate Institute were successfully used in the Chang’e 6 ultrasonic motor.”
X user SegerYU sheds further light on a recent after (translation via Google):
“The Chang’e 6 lunar rover has solar panels on the other side and cameras on both sides of the rover, so it can take pictures no matter which way it’s facing. The rover is completely autonomous and can be controlled remotely from the ground.”
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Clearly different
The sporty mini-rover is much lighter and clearly different from the previous Chinese Yutu 1 and Yutu2 lunar rovers. Each Yutu has six wheels and both were loaded with equipment on their solar panels.
China’s Change 3 Yutu 1 lunar lander launched in Mare Imbrium after arriving on the near side of the Moon in December 2013.
The home base of Yutu 2 after its deployment by the Change 4 lander in January 2019 is the Von Kármán crater in the South Pole-Aitken Basin, on the far side of the moon. It is reportedly alive and still moving.
You can learn more about the Chang’e 6 mini-rover here. And check this one out nice view of the mission’s return capsule after landing on Earth on June 25, courtesy of China ‘N Asia Spaceflight.
