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Liftoff: China Chang'e-6 Moon Mission to Retrieve Samples from Far Side South Pole
A Long March-5 rocket, carrying China's Chang'e-6 spacecraft, blasted off from its launchpad at the Wenchang Space Launch Site on the coast of the southern island province of Hainan on Friday afternoon, May 3, 2024. The probe will take samples on the far side of the Moon and bring them back to Earth in a world-first.
This mission features scientific payloads from countries that include France, Italy, Sweden, and Pakistan. The international scientific payloads carried by the Chang'e-6 mission include the French radon gas detector (CNES), the European Space Agency/Swedish ion analyzer, and the Italian laser corner reflector (Agenzia Spaziale Italiana), as well as the Pakistani ICUBE-Q cube satellite. The mission will last about 53 days.
Chang'e-6's pre-selected landing area is located in the southern part of the Apollo basin in the SPA basin (43°±2° south latitude, 154°±4° west longitude).
In 2020, Chang'e 5 was the first lunar sample-return mission since the Soviet Union's Luna 24 in 1976. The mission made China the third country to return samples from the Moon after the United States and the Soviet Union.
Image Credit: China National Space Administration (CNSA)
NASA's Space to Ground: Boeing Starliner Pre-launch | Week of May 3, 2024
NASA's Space to Ground is your weekly update on what is happening aboard the International Space Station. A United Launch Alliance (ULA) Atlas V rocket will launch Boeing’s Crew Space Transportation (CST)-100 Starliner spacecraft with two NASA astronauts, Barry “Butch” Wilmore and Sunita "Suni" Williams on the Crew Flight Test (CFT) to the International Space Station.
Launch Date and Time: May 6, 2024 at 10:34 p.m. EDT
NASA’s Commercial Crew Program works with the American aerospace industry to provide safe, reliable, and cost-effective transportation to and from the International Space Station on American-made rockets and spacecraft launching from American soil.
Roscosmos (Russia): Nikolai Chub, Alexander Grebenkin (Russia)
NASA: Tracy Dyson, Matthew Dominik, Mike Barrett, Jeanette Epps
An international partnership of space agencies provides and operates the elements of the International Space Station (ISS). The principals are the space agencies of the United States, Russia, Europe, Japan, and Canada. The ISS has been the most politically complex space exploration program ever undertaken.
Learn more about NASA’s Commercial Crew Program at:
Launch: China Chang'e-6 Moon Sample Return Mission to Far Side South Pole
China successfully launched the Chang'e-6 lunar probe on Friday, May 3, 2024, to collect and return the first ever lunar samples from the far side of the moon. The probe, atop a Long March-5 Y8 carrier rocket, blasted off at 17:27 (Beijing time) from the Wenchang Space Launch Site in south China's Hainan Province, marking the start of its mission that will last about 53 days.
It follows in the footsteps of the country's first lunar sample return mission, Chang'e-5, which was launched in 2020 and brought back 1,731 grams of samples from the near side of the moon. The mission made China the third country to return samples from the Moon after the United States and the Soviet Union.
Chang'e-6 is set to land on the South Pole-Aitken (SPA) Basin, one of the three major lunar landforms with significant scientific value. Chang'e-6's pre-selected landing area is located in the southern part of the Apollo basin in the SPA basin (43°±2° south latitude, 154°±4° west longitude). The South Pole–Aitken basin is a large impact crater on the far side of the Moon. At roughly 2,500 km (1,600 mi) in diameter and between 6.2 and 8.2 km (3.9–5.1 mi) deep, it is the largest, oldest, and deepest basin recognized on the Moon.
The mission marks another milestone in China's lunar exploration program (CLEP). Back in 2019, the country's Chang'e-4 probe touched down on the far side of the moon, becoming the first spacecraft to complete a soft-landing on the moon's uncharted side.
China is also advancing plans to complete its first manned space mission to the moon by 2030, according to the China Manned Space Agency (CMSA).
The Chang'e-6 mission features scientific payloads from countries that include France, Italy, Sweden, and Pakistan. The international scientific payloads carried by the Chang'e-6 mission include the French radon gas detector (CNES), the European Space Agency/Swedish ion analyzer, and the Italian laser corner reflector (Italian Space Agency), as well as the Pakistani ICUBE-Q cube satellite.
Last month, the Queqiao-2 relay satellite was successfully deployed and put into orbit in order to facilitate communications between the far side of the moon and the Earth.
Liftoff: China Chang'e-6 Moon Mission to Retrieve Samples from Far Side South Pole
A Long March-5 rocket, carrying China's Chang'e-6 spacecraft, blasted off from its launchpad at the Wenchang Space Launch Site on the coast of the southern island province of Hainan on Friday afternoon, May 3, 2024. The probe will take samples on the far side of the Moon and bring them back to Earth in a world-first.
This mission features scientific payloads from countries that include France, Italy, Sweden, and Pakistan. The international scientific payloads carried by the Chang'e-6 mission include the French radon gas detector (CNES), the European Space Agency/Swedish ion analyzer, and the Italian laser corner reflector (Agenzia Spaziale Italiana), as well as the Pakistani ICUBE-Q cube satellite. The mission will last about 53 days.
Chang'e-6's pre-selected landing area is located in the southern part of the Apollo basin in the SPA basin (43°±2° south latitude, 154°±4° west longitude).
In 2020, Chang'e 5 was the first lunar sample-return mission since the Soviet Union's Luna 24 in 1976. The mission made China the third country to return samples from the Moon after the United States and the Soviet Union.
China's Chang'e-6 Moon Mission: Returning Samples from Far Side South Pole
China's Chang'e-6 science mission is conducting the first-ever human sample return from the far side of the moon with scientific payloads from countries that include France, Italy, Sweden, and Pakistan. The mission will last about 53 days. Here is an animated video of the process.
Chang'e-6's pre-selected landing area is located in the southern part of the Apollo basin in the SPA basin (43°±2° south latitude, 154°±4° west longitude). The international scientific payloads carried by the Chang'e-6 mission include the French radon gas detector (CNES), the European Space Agency/Swedish ion analyzer, and the Italian laser corner reflector (Agenzia Spaziale Italiana), as well as the Pakistani ICUBE-Q cube satellite.
In 2020, Chang'e 5 was the first lunar sample-return mission since the Soviet Union's Luna 24 in 1976. The mission made China the third country to return samples from the Moon after the United States and the Soviet Union.
Pre-launch: China Chang'e-6 Sample Return Mission to Moon's Far Side South Pole
Chang'e-6 lunar probe is to be launched on Friday, May 3, 2024, said the China National Space Administration on Wednesday. The lunar probe will be sent to the Earth-Moon transfer orbit by a Long March-5 Y8 carrier rocket. This will be the second time for a carrier rocket of the Long March-5 series to carry out the launch mission of China's lunar exploration program (CLEP).
In 2020, Chang'e 5 was the first lunar sample-return mission since the Soviet Union's Luna 24 in 1976. The mission made China the third country to return samples from the Moon after the United States and the Soviet Union.
The probe will take samples on the far side of the Moon and bring them back to Earth in a world-first.
Considering factors like the Earth-Moon positional relationship, engineers have designed 10 trajectories for the two 50-minute windows, each on Friday and Saturday, to ensure the probe's arrival in the Moon.
Now all systems for the launch mission have undergone the last comprehensive rehearsal, and propellant will be injected into the Long March-5 Y8 carrier rocket.
Image Credits: China Global Television Network (CGTN)
China to Launch Chang'e-6 Sample Return Mission to Moon's Far Side South Pole
Chang'e-6 lunar probe is to be launched on Friday, May 3, 2024, said the China National Space Administration on Wednesday. The lunar probe will be sent to the Earth-Moon transfer orbit by a Long March-5 Y8 carrier rocket. This will be the second time for a carrier rocket of the Long March-5 series to carry out the launch mission of China's lunar exploration program.
In 2020, Chang'e 5 was the first lunar sample-return mission since the Soviet Union's Luna 24 in 1976. The mission made China the third country to return samples from the Moon after the United States and the Soviet Union.
The probe will take samples on the far side of the Moon and bring them back to Earth in a world-first.
Considering factors like the Earth-Moon positional relationship, engineers have designed 10 trajectories for the two 50-minute windows, each on Friday and Saturday, to ensure the probe's arrival in the Moon.
Now all systems for the launch mission have undergone the last comprehensive rehearsal, and propellant will be injected into the Long March-5 Y8 carrier rocket.
Europe's New Astronauts Graduate: A Year in Training | European Space Agency
The European Space Agency's newly graduated astronauts reach the end of one year of rigorous basic astronaut training. Discover the journey of Sophie Adenot, Rosemary Coogan, Pablo Álvarez Fernández, Raphaël Liégeois, Marco Sieber, and Australian Space Agency astronaut candidate Katherine Bennell-Pegg. Selected in November 2022, the group began their training in April 2023.
Basic astronaut training provides the candidates with an overall familiarization and training in various areas, such as spacecraft systems, spacewalks, flight engineering, robotics and life support systems as well as survival and medical training. They received astronaut certification at the European Space Agency’s European Astronaut Centre on April 22, 2024.
Following certification, the new astronauts will move on to the next phases of pre-assignment and mission-specific training—paving the way for future missions to the International Space Station and beyond.
Australian Space Agency astronaut Katherine Bennell-Pegg Biography
Atlas V Rocket Mission Profile: Boeing Starliner Crew Flight Test | ULA
A United Launch Alliance (ULA) Atlas V rocket will launch Boeing’s Crew Space Transportation (CST)-100 Starliner spacecraft with two NASA astronauts, Barry “Butch” Wilmore and Sunita "Suni" Williams on the Crew Flight Test (CFT) to the International Space Station.
Launch Date and Time: May 6, 2024 at 10:34 p.m. EDT
NASA’s Commercial Crew Program works with the American aerospace industry to provide safe, reliable, and cost-effective transportation to and from the International Space Station on American-made rockets and spacecraft launching from American soil.
Learn more about NASA’s Commercial Crew Program at:
Atlas V Rocket Team: Boeing Starliner Crew Flight Test | United Launch Alliance
"As we return human spaceflight to the Atlas rocket, we pass the torch of knowledge to future generations, building on all we have learned."
Go Atlas! Go Centaur! Go Starliner!
"Continuing Atlas' legacy of launching humans to space, ULA is using an Atlas V rocket to launch the Crew Flight Test (CFT) Mission to the International Space Station for NASA with Boeing Crew Flight Test astronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams. See how the Atlas V rocket was stacked ahead of launch."
Launch Date and Time: May 6, 2024 at 10:34 p.m. EDT
NASA’s Commercial Crew Program works with the American aerospace industry to provide safe, reliable, and cost-effective transportation to and from the International Space Station on American-made rockets and spacecraft launching from American soil.
Learn more about NASA’s Commercial Crew Program at:
Dark Energy: How NASA is Unlocking One of the Biggest Mysteries of the Universe
Only 5% of the known universe is visible to us. The other 95% is called dark matter and dark energy, and it is making scientists rethink what we know about the cosmos. Jet Propulsion Lab’s Fundamental Physics Portfolio Manager John Callas explains what dark energy is, why it is so hard to study, and what NASA is doing to unlock this big mystery.
Video Credit: National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA)
The Waning Gibbous Moon | International Space Station
The waning gibbous Moon begins setting below Earth's horizon in this photograph from the International Space Station as it orbited 258 miles above China.
Roscosmos (Russia): Nikolai Chub, Alexander Grebenkin (Russia)
NASA: Tracy Dyson, Matthew Dominik, Mike Barrett, Jeanette Epps
An international partnership of space agencies provides and operates the elements of the International Space Station (ISS). The principals are the space agencies of the United States, Russia, Europe, Japan, and Canada. The ISS has been the most politically complex space exploration program ever undertaken.
What's Up for May 2024 | Skywatching Tips from NASA (Northern Hemisphere)
Here are examples of skywatching highlights for May 2024 in the Northern Hemisphere:
Mars and Saturn tussle with the Moon, Mercury makes a brief a.m. appearance, East Coasters can see red giant star Antares emerge from behind the Moon, and the eta Aquariid meteors peak on May 6th.
In May 2024, we are looking away from the crowded, dusty plane of our own galaxy toward a region where the sky is brimming with distant galaxies. Locate Virgo to find a concentration of roughly 2,000 galaxies and search for Coma Berenices to identify many more. Keep watching for space-based views of galaxies like the Sombrero Galaxy, M87, and M64.
About this Series
“Tonight’s Sky” is a monthly video of constellations you can observe in the night sky. The series is produced by the Space Telescope Science Institute, home of science operations for the Hubble Space Telescope, in partnership with NASA’s Universe of Learning.
This product is based on work supported by NASA under award numbers NNX16AC65A to the Space Telescope Science Institute, working in partnership with Caltech/IPAC, Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory, and Sonoma State University.
Video Credit: Space Telescope Science Institute (STScI)
Wide-field View: Star Cluster NGC 6440 | James Webb Space Telescope
This image from the NASA/European Space Agency/Canadian Space Agency James Webb Space Telescope features NGC 6440, a globular cluster that resides roughly 28,000 light-years from Earth in the constellation Sagittarius. The object was first discovered by William Herschel in May 1786.
Globular clusters like NGC 6440 are roughly spherical, tightly packed, collections of old stars bound together by gravity. They can be found throughout galaxies, but often live on the outskirts. They hold hundreds of thousands to millions of stars that are on average about one light-year apart, but they can be as close together as the size of our Solar System. NGC 6440 is known to be a high-mass and metal-rich cluster that formed and is orbiting within the Galactic bulge. It is a dense, near-spherical region of old stars in the inner part of the Milky Way.
This image was obtained with 2023 data from Webb’s Near-InfraRed Camera (NIRCam) as part of an observation program to explore the stars in the cluster and to investigate details of the cluster’s pulsars. A pulsar is a highly magnetized, rotating neutron star that emits a beam of electromagnetic radiation from their magnetic poles. To us, that beam appears as a short burst or pulse as the star rotates. Pulsars spin extremely fast. Astronomers have clocked the fastest pulsars at more than 716 rotations per second, but a pulsar could theoretically rotate as fast as 1500 rotations per second before slowly losing energy or breaking apart.
The new data obtained by the science team indicate the first evidence from Webb observations of abundance variations of helium and oxygen in stars in a globular cluster. These results open the window for future, in-depth investigations of other clusters in the Galactic bulge, which were previously infeasible with other telescope facilities given the significant crowding of stars in the cluster and the strong reddening caused by interstellar dust between the cluster and Earth.
Image Description: A spherical collection of stars fills the entire view. The cluster is dominated by a concentrated group of bright white stars at the center, with several large yellow stars scattered throughout the image. Many of the stars have visible diffraction spikes. The background is black.
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