At 10:12 a.m. on May 8, experts at the Beijing Aerospace Flight Control Center carefully controlled the Chang'e-6 probe to successfully complete the near-moon braking and elegantly slide into the orbit around the moon, starting its exploration journey around the moon.
Near-moon braking, as an important technical node in the flight of the Chang'e-6 probe, marks the successful "braking" of the probe, reducing its speed to below the lunar escape velocity, so that it is gently pulled by the moon's gravity and stably flies around the moon.
Next, with the strong support of the Queqiao-2 relay satellite, the Chang'e-6 probe will precisely adjust the altitude and inclination of its orbit around the moon, fully preparing for the critical separation of the subsequent orbiter from the lander.
When the time comes, the orbiter returner assembly and the lander ascension assembly will be precisely separated, and then the lander ascender assembly will bravely challenge the South Pole-Aitken Basin on the far side of the moon for a soft landing, where it is planned to carry out an unprecedented sample return mission on the far side of the moon.
How complicated is the space brake of the Chang'e-6 probe?
The Chang'e-6 probe set off from Earth and galloped toward the Moon at an astonishing speed of about 10 km/s. As it approaches the perilunar perigee, a critical moment comes when the probe must quickly and dramatically reduce its speed to 3 km/s in order to be captured by the moon's gravity and smoothly enter orbit around the moon.
In this process, near-moon braking has become the primary test faced by the Chang'e-6 probe. To ensure a successful transition from Earth-Moon transfer orbit to orbit around the Moon, the probe must perform a precise and error-free deceleration maneuver.
Compared with Chang'e-5, Chang'e-6 faces more severe challenges in the near-moon braking phase. Since Chang'e-6 needs to brake on the far side of the moon, communication with the Earth has to rely on the Queqiao-2 relay satellite. This not only requires the probe to slow down sharply, but also to maintain stable communication with Queqiao-2 to ensure the safety and smoothness of the braking process.
Throughout the braking process, the Chang'e-6 probe needs to flexibly adjust its attitude and speed to cope with subtle changes in the moon's gravity. At the same time, the ground flight control team also needs to grasp the status information of the probe in real time through the Queqiao-2 relay satellite and make precise command adjustments. This process tests the team's skill level and ability to work together, and any small mistake can lead to the failure of the task.
Although near-moon braking is a major risk point in the Chang'e-6 mission, it is the successful overcoming of this challenge that has laid a solid foundation for subsequent exploration missions. Through precise calculations and coordinated operations, the Chang'e-6 probe successfully accomplished this feat, demonstrating the outstanding strength of China's space technology.
What will be the consequences of braking failure?
If the Chang'e-6 probe's braking fails, there will be serious consequences. Many popular science bloggers said that "once the brakes fail, then there is only bye-bye". Is the space brake really that serious?
Specifically, if the "brake" is not strong enough and the speed does not slow down, the Chang'e-6 probe will not be able to be captured by the moon's gravity, but will continue to fly at its original speed, and may eventually slide into outer space and pass by the moon, resulting in the failure of the mission.
On the other hand, if the "brakes" are too strong, that is, the deceleration is excessive, the probe may fall headlong on the surface of the moon, causing serious damage or even shattering bones. In this case, the probe will not be able to continue its detection mission, which will also cause the mission to fail.
Therefore, braking is one of the key steps for the Chang'e-6 probe to successfully achieve its mission around the moon, and it must be performed with precision. In order to ensure the success of braking, the detector is equipped with a high-precision control system and power system, which has been fully tested and verified.
Not only that, the ground flight control team will also monitor the status of the probe in real time and make corresponding command adjustments as needed to ensure the successful completion of the mission.
At last
The successful braking of Chang'e-6 in the near-moon orbit not only indicates the strength of China's Chang'e-6 aerospace technology, but also shows that Chang'e-6 is about to land on the moon, which is one step closer to the return of lunar soil. Come on for Chang'e-6 and praise for China's aerospace science and technology!