China’s Chang’e-6 brakes close to the moon and enters lunar orbit
Beijing: On Wednesday, the China National Space Administration (CNSA) announced that China’s Chang’e-6 lunar mission has successfully reached its circumlunar orbit.
Chang’e-6 entered circumlunar orbit on Wednesday at 10:12 a.m. (local time), according to the CNSA, as reported by the Xinhua news agency. Chang’e-6 successfully completed a near-moon braking maneuver before doing so.
One of the most important orbital controls for Chang’e-6 during flight is the near-moon braking technique. Its relative speed is lowered by braking below the lunar escape velocity, allowing it to be drawn in by the moon’s gravity to circle the moon.
Chang’e-6, assisted by the Queqiao-2 relay satellite, will thereafter modify the orbit’s height and inclination and choose an appropriate moment to execute the separation of the lander-ascender and orbiter-returner combinations.
According to the source, the lander-ascender combo will thereafter perform a soft landing on the South Pole-Aitken Basin in order to execute the scheduled sample and return mission on the far side of the Moon.
On May 3, the Chang’e-6 spacecraft launched on a Long March-5 rocket to the far side of the Moon.
The spacecraft, which consists of an orbiter, lander, ascender, and returner, wants to make history by becoming the first to gather and return samples from the lunar surface’s far side.
