China wins back side of the moon. And what about Russia?
While Europeans and Americans celebrate the New year, the Chinese landed on the side of the moon. The lander “Chang’e-4” and the Rover “WiTu” we have already begun the first survey of the surface of the satellite.
To land on the back side of the moon is difficult, not because it’s dark. The satellite regularly turns his back to the Sun — with the earth, it looks like the new moon. The problem is how to pass commands to the device: the signal path overlaps, of course, the Moon itself.
Chinese engineers have solved the problem by launching an additional satellite, designed to relay information flow between the “Chang’e” and the Earth. And now the red flag with yellow stars was about the opposite of the American flag taken to the moon by Neil Armstrong.
On the other hand, the first ever landing on the moon was produced 50 years ago — it was the Soviet spacecraft “Luna-2”.
So, the last half-century nobody could get to the back side of the moon until it was able to the Chinese? Or no one just wanted?
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Ivan Moiseyev, scientific head of the space policy Institute
“Landings on the moon were not so much. Any landing, wherever it has occurred, it is always a very important step forward, the new data from the new area of the moon. On the reverse side of the moon is interesting because it differs from the apparent, even visually, it is mountainous. You can see how different the composition of materials. The scientists there are such issues. But here there is the share of PR, of course. And then successfully aligned”.