On May 3rd, the China National Space Administration announced that the Long March-5B Y8 carrier rocket has started loading liquid oxygen and low-temperature propellant. The Chang'e-6 mission of the lunar exploration project phase four is scheduled to launch between 17:00 and 18:00 on May 3rd, with the preferred launch window set for 17:27.
The launch window refers to the time range suitable for rocket launches.
In this mission, the engineering team applied the "narrow window multi-track" launch technology, taking into account factors such as the relative positions of the Earth and the Moon.
For the rocket, a total of 10 lunar trajectories were designed to ensure the mission could proceed smoothly within a 50-minute window on both May 3rd and May 4th.
The Chang'e 6 mission is more complex than any previous lunar exploration, involving sampling and returning from the far side of the Moon, exploring unknown territories for humanity.
After landing on the moon, the probe must possess the ability for autonomous sampling, takeoff, and ascent, which is challenging and presents significant hurdles.
The landing site for the Chang'e 6 mission is located in the South Pole-Aitken Basin on the far side of the moon, aiming to discover and collect lunar samples from different regions and ages to enhance human understanding of the moon.
If this mission is successful, China will become the first country to achieve lunar sampling on the far side of the moon.
