Chang'e 3

Key facts

Mission & specifications

Mission

Chang'e 3 was China's first soft landing on the Moon, and the first controlled lunar touchdown by any nation in nearly four decades — since the Soviet Luna 24 in 1976. Launched on 1 December 2013 atop a Long March 3B rocket, it reached lunar orbit within five days and, on 14 December, used a throttleable engine and automated hazard-avoidance to settle gently onto the lava plains of Mare Imbrium. Hours later it lowered a ramp and released Yutu, or 'Jade Rabbit', a six-wheeled solar-powered rover, making China only the third country — after the Soviet Union and the United States — to operate a vehicle on the Moon. The lander carried an ultraviolet telescope that observed the sky from the lunar surface for years, taking advantage of the airless environment, along with cameras and ground-penetrating radar to probe the layered rock beneath. Yutu drove a little over a hundred metres before a mechanical fault left it unable to move after its second freezing lunar night, though its instruments kept returning data. Chang'e 3 marked China's arrival as a capable spacefaring nation, and was the first step in an ambitious lunar programme that would go on to reach the far side and return samples.

1. 2013Launch toward the MoonLaunch

   A Long March 3B sends China's first lunar lander on its way.

2. 2013Lunar orbitArrival

   Chang'e 3 enters orbit and lines up its descent to Mare Imbrium.

3. 2013Soft landing in Mare ImbriumLanding

   The first controlled lunar landing by any nation since 1976, using automated hazard avoidance.

4. 2013Yutu rover deployedDeployment

   The 'Jade Rabbit' rover rolls onto the surface; China becomes the third nation to drive on the Moon.

Images

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