The NASA Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter confirmed the presence of the Chinese lunar lander on the far side of the moon.
And not only that, but also it happened to capture some snaps of the Chang’e 4 resting on the lunar surface.
Even though it is barely a spec on the otherwise vast expanse of black and white, it is still there.
As we’ve pointed out in previous articles about the Chang’e 4 landing (which you can read here and here if you like), these pictures do anything if not give one a sense of the vast scale of space.
The lunar lander arrived on the far side of the moon last month and touched down in the center of the Von Karman crater, a wide expanse of desolate and old lunar geological feature formed by an asteroid impact billions of years ago. Measuring 186 kilometers (116 miles) in diameter, it also provides a large, safe space for something like the Chang’e 4 lander to land inside.
Gizmodo points out that this isn’t the first time the NASA Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter has confirmed the landing of a Chinese lunar probe. Back in 2013 it also spotted the Chang’e 3 and Yutu rover. Sadly, even though the Chang’e 3 was sent to the Earth-facing side of the moon, it stopped working after landing.
That definitely isn’t the case with the Chang’e 4 which is exciting people all over the world with its awesome pics from the moon.
It is also a huge feat in terms of lunar science and space exploration. Landing on the side of the moon that is permanently facing away from the Earth, the Chang’e 4 faced a myriad of technical challenges that its predecessor did not. Its success in spite of these challenges is a true inspiration.
Of course, as usual we'd love to know what you think of the Chang'e 4 lunar pictures in the comments below. Also, don't forget to check out our article about that time an asteroid hit the moon while everyone was watching.
2 Comments
What? These are the awesome pictures from the dark side of the moon? Like, what?
Far side, not dark side. No such thing as dark side of the moon, other than the album.