China Lands Probe on the Moon

On Saturday December 14, 2013 China successfully landed a probe on the moon, this being the only probe in four decades to be sent to the moon. This sets the stage for the later goal of getting a Chinese astronaut on the moon. The unmanned lander named Chang'e 3 landed successfully after a 12-minute landing sequence, the probe then released a lunar rover named 玉兔 or Jade Rabbit. This made China the third country to land a probe on the moon, third of course to the US and Soviet Union, the last probe was sent by the Soviet Union in 1976. "It's still a significant technological challenge to land on another world," said Peter Bond, consultant editor for Jane's Space Systems and Industry. "Especially somewhere like the moon, which doesn't have an atmosphere so you can't use parachutes or anything like that. You have to use rocket motors for the descent and you have to make sure you go down at the right angle and the right rate of descent and you don't end up in a crater on top of a large rock." China takes a large source of pride in their space program, and the landing is to be expected to mark the latest step in an ambitious space program which is seen as a symbol of China's rising global stature and technological advancement. China was third in another category, they were the third country to send an astronaut into space and later plan on opening a space station around the year 2020 in which they will send an astronaut to them moon from.

The rover comes equipped with solar panels that opened up once the probe landed on the once lava filled planes. It sent back its first batch of over 60 pictures and will send back a high definition panoramic photo of the moon within a couple of days. "The rover’s original landing site was situated within the basin of the 250-mile-wide Sinus Iridium, or Bay of Rainbows, a large flat crater visible in the upper-left area of the full moon as seen from Earth. But the Chinese space agency decided to land the rover one orbit early, a bit to the east over Mare Imbrium, the Sea of Rains. This unexplored region offers the potential for discovery of interesting geological features, clear driving for the rover, and grand views of steep crater walls." The landing of this rover will hopefully spark some competition again and maybe we will see some amazing achievements in the future.