The Chinese lunar landing gear woke up after a two-week hibernation and found that nighttime temperatures on the far side of the moon are actually lower than previously thought, the Chinese National Space Agency reported on Thursday.
The Chang’e-4 probe, which got its name in honor of the Chinese goddess of the Moon, made the world’s first soft landing on the far side of the moon on January 3, which was an important stage in China’s ambitious plan to become a powerful space power.
Temperatures on the moon’s surface dropped to minus 190 degrees Celsius during the first moonlit night, which turned out to be “colder than scientists expected,” the Chinese National Space Administration (CNSA) reported.
The values of night temperatures were recorded by the Chinese probe after it returned to conducting scientific operations on Wednesday, after a “drowsiness,” which lasted for about two Earth weeks.
These temperatures were lower than those recorded by previous US missions to the near side of the moon, said Zhang He, manager of the Chang’e-4 mission to the Xinhua news agency.
“This is probably due to the difference in the composition of the lunar soil between the two sides of the moon,” he said.
The rover, released from the landing gear compartment – named Yuytu-2 (The Jade Bunny) in honor of the pet goddess – also returned to conducting scientific operations, as planned, on January 29 and will continue to conduct experiments in the Karman crater, CNSA reported in a statement.
Probe Chang’e-4 is equipped with tools developed by scientists from Sweden, Germany and China.
The tasks facing this probe include the study of conditions on the surface of the moon, cosmic radiation and the interaction between the solar wind and the surface of the natural satellite of our planet.
Now this probe will continue to conduct its experiments, CNSA reported.
Nights on the Moon turned out to be colder than it was thought
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