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Solar particle detector activated

BEIJING: Chinese scientists have successfully activated the first probing equipment on the Chang’e-1 lunar orbiter on Thursday to start exploring the environment between the Earth and the Moon.

The high-energy solar particle detector, positioned on board the satellite with seven other probing facilities, will collect data on the space expanse between 40,000 and 4,00,000 km from earth to moon, said Li Chunlai, chief designer of the ground application system of the lunar probe.

The information will enable scientists to learn about the environment and ensure the safety of future spacecrafts, said Mr. Li. A payload data processing system had also been activated, but other equipment remain “dormant” to save energy.

Emergency measures have been designed to handle any hitch including placing spare parts and circuits in key equipments, he said.

The 2,300-kg satellite has just completed its first orbital transfer around 5:57 p.m. on Thursday, a step further in its 3,80,000-km journey to the Moon. Chang’e-1 needs to conduct 10 orbit manoeuvres during its flight, and is expected to enter Earth-Moon transfer orbit on October 31 and arrive in the Moon’s orbit on November 5.

It will relay the first pictures of the Moon in November and will continue scientific explorations for a year. The Chang’e-1 blasted off on a Long March3A carrier rocket on Wednesday from the Xichang Satellite Launch Center in the southwestern province of Sichuan.

It carried eight probing facilities, including a stereo camera and interferometer, an imager and gamma/x-ray spectrometer, a laser altimeter, a microwave detector, a high-energy solar particle detector and a low-energy ion detector.

Its major scientific objectives include a three-dimensional survey of the Moon’s surface, analysis of distribution and amounts of elements on the lunar surface, an investigation of the characteristics of lunar mantle rock and the powdery soil layer on the surface. — Xinhua

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