The time is getting closer and closer for China to launch a "lunar satellite". China has the ability to create a "lunar satellite", which the United States cannot do. This time, the Chinese-made "lunar satellite" will fly to a position only 300 kilometers from the surface of the moon, which can be said to be quite close to the moon, and also fully demonstrates China's strength in lunar technology.
China is not only making progress in building a "lunar satellite", but will also achieve stronger technology. This is an important step in China's deep space exploration, and it will also be of great benefit to future exploration of Venus and Mars.
How strong is that? I'll explain it in more detail next.
China is preparing to launch a lunar satellite.
Yes, China is about to enter the countdown to the launch of a lunar satellite, because all the rockets and satellites needed for the launch have already arrived at the launch site. So what exactly is this lunar satellite?
In fact, it is China's Chang'e-2 probe, which orbits the moon and is closer to its surface.
As we all know, China has successfully launched the Queqiao-1 relay satellite, which has a design life of 5 years; The Queqiao No. 2 has been significantly improved in terms of performance, and the design life has reached 8 years.
Compared with the Queqiao relay satellite, Queqiao-2 is closer to the Moon, only about 300 kilometers, far more than the 650,000 km is much closer. Therefore, this poses an even greater test of China's technological challenges.
The key to this lunar satellite launch is that it is not only a simple satellite launch, but also carries two satellites: "Tiandu-1" and "Tiandu-2". The two satellites will orbit the Moon and carry out related tasks. I'll explain a little bit about the configuration:
Tiandu No. 1"The whole satellite weighs 61 kg and is equipped with payloads such as a KA dual-band integrated communication machine, a laser corner reflector, and a space router.
The Tiandu-2 satellite with a conductive payload weighs 15 kilograms.
Therefore, all things considered, it can be said that China is basically shooting three stars on the moon with one arrow this time.
Considering the uniqueness of China's lunar satellite, it contributes to China's Chang'e project, and the docking area for the mission is also not available in the United States.
The Queqiao relay satellite is unique in the world and is owned only by China, so other countries must apply to China for use when carrying out missions on the far side of the moon. This also explains why other countries in the world want to carry out such missions as well.
Many countries do not even have enough strength to conduct this research, which leads to a difference in strength in space technology.
My country has graciously acceded to the application for use by NASA and other space agencies. Therefore, in the future, as long as other countries are seen to carry out lunar exploration missions on the far side of the moon, China's Queqiao relay satellite will play an indispensable key role, because it is the most important part of building the lunar communication system.
China is one of the best projects, the United States cannot do it, while China can operate relay satellites in space.
Of course, it should be emphasized that the United States is not unable to develop relay satellites, but it will not be possible in the short term, and if it is willing to invest money in research, it will definitely be achievable. However, the United States has not yet shown any interest in conducting such research.
Since the cost of the institute is much higher than the use of Chinese relay satellites, the United States is reluctant to participate in such a "loss-making" deal, which is the case with relay satellite satellites.
China's relay satellites will play a role while making history, but their significance is not limited to that.
The launch of China's Queqiao-2 relay satellite is self-evident, and its primary task is to provide support for China's Chang'e-6. Chang'e-6 is a probe to the far side of the Moon, which will be the first time that humans have carried out a collection mission on the far side of the Moon. Once successful, it will create a new history for China in lunar exploration, and will also write a new chapter in the world's space history.
According to statistics, more than 10 lunar sampling missions have been successfully returned to Earth so far, all of which are focused on the front side of the moon. However, the far side of the Moon is relatively older, and no national probe has yet reached the region. China's Chang'e-6 is about to challenge this dilemma and strive for a major breakthrough.
The area it plans to travel to is the Lunar South Pole-Aitken Basin, which will provide us with a deeper understanding of the Moon once it successfully brings back lunar samples and returns them to Earth.
Therefore, one of the key tasks of the Chang'e-6 mission is actually the Queqiao-2 mission, which is so important that it can be said that if it does not succeed, there is no other choice.
The important projects of China's lunar research station include Chang'e-7, Chang'e-8 and other related missions, which will be carried out continuously after the Chang'e-6 mission.
However, Queqiao 2 is not limited to this function, it has many more uses. If that's all there is to it, there's no need to do it, otherwise it's a loss-making thing. Obviously, our country also needs to make the most of the value of each space mission.
Queqiao-2 belongs to the deep space system.
Queqiao-2 will continue to operate with the support of the Chang'e project, providing support for China's deep space network and performing functions such as space navigation and remote sensing. None of this is wrong.
This is also part of the overall Queqiao constellation in China, and it also needs to rely on China's Queqiao-3 system.
At the 74th International Astronautical Congress (IAC), China disclosed that the Queqiao-3 series of satellites will verify the key technologies of communication, navigation and remote sensing services, and made it clear that after the completion of the construction of the Queqiao constellation, China's deep space communication network will not only cover the moon, but also expand to Mars, Venus and other planets, realizing signal transmission through high-speed laser links on these planets.
Therefore, this is an indication that China is pursuing a more ambitious space program.
Of course, this may also provide a certain degree of support for China's manned mission to the moon. After all, the more assistance we can provide in the deep space system, the more we will be able to dominate.
Therefore, it is expected that China will establish a deep space system as soon as possible. In this way, when carrying out related exploration missions such as Mars and Venus, China can more conveniently realize exploration, especially in the case of cooperation with other countries, and the layout and laying of such projects will also be more perfect.