Posts
By
Moon Of Alabama
3
January, 2019
An
extraordinary mission by the China National Space Administration
helps us to learn a bit of ancient and modern Chinese culture.
Today
at 2:26 utc the lunar lander module Chang'e-4 and its six wheel rover
Yutu-2 landed on the far side of the moon. They used the Queqiao
relay satellite to send us the first ever close range pictures (see
below) of the far side of the moon.
The
names Chang'e, Yutu and Quegiao have no meaning for people who grew
up in 'western' cultures but are well known throughout Asia:
In
a very distant past, ten suns had risen together into the skies and
scorched the earth, thus causing hardship for the people. The archer
Yi shot down nine of them, leaving just one sun, and was given the
elixir of immortality as a reward. He did not consume it straight
away, but hid it at home, as he did not want to gain immortality
without his beloved wife Chang'e. However, while Yi went out hunting,
his apprentice Fengmeng broke into his house and tried to force
Chang'e to give him the elixir; she refused and drank it herself.
Chang'e then flew upwards towards the heavens, choosing the moon as
residence. Yi discovered what had transpired and felt sad, so he
displayed the fruits and cakes that Chang'e had liked, and gave
sacrifices to her.
...
On
mid-autumn day, the full moon night of the eighth lunar month, an
open-air altar is set up facing the moon for the worship of Chang'e.
New pastries are put on the altar for her to bless. She is said to
endow her worshipers with beauty.
Wikipedia,
Chang'e
There
are classic drawings of Chang'e, but she also plays a prominent role
in modern anime.
Yutu,
the jade rabbit, is the companion of Chang'e. He and his mortar can
been seen in the full moon. Yutu is pounding the ingredients of the
elixir of life for Chang'e.
Wikipedia,
Moon rabbit
The
Chinese lunar exploration program uses the names of Chang'e and Yutu
for its lunar landing modules and the exploration rovers that comes
with them. Chang'e-3 and her Yutu-1 rover landed on the near side of
the moon on December 14 2013. It was the first lunar landing since
1976.
Earlier
today Chang'e-4 autonomously landed on the far site of the moon. This
is the first mission ever that touched down on the half of the moon
that can not be seen from earth. (The far side of the moon is not
dark, but gets the same amount of sunshine as the near side. The
"Dark Site of the Moon" is an allusion to lunacy. Pink
Floyd mentions do not fit the event.)
Being
on the far side of the moon Chang'e-4 can not directly communicate
with her lover on earth. A special relay satellite was stationed in
the halo orbit some 75,000 kilometer beyond the moon where it can see
the far site of the moon as well as earth. Its name is Queqiao or
Magpie bridge:
Zhi
Nu, the seventh daughter of the goddess of heaven, fell in love with
the cow herder Niu Lang. They lived happily for many years. Both were
sad when Ziu Nu had to return back to heaven. But the goddess of
heaven took pity with the sweethearts and allowed them to be reunited
once every year. On this seventh night of the seventh moon, magpies
form a bridge with their wings in order that Zhi Nu might cross and
meet with her beloved husband. That day (during August) is the
Chinese equivalent of Valentines day.
After
she landed early today Cheng'e-4 took this picture and sent it over
the magpie bridge back to her lovers on earth.
Earlier
today Chang'e-4 autonomously landed on the far site of the moon. This
is the first mission ever that touched down on the half of the moon
that can not be seen from earth. (The far side of the moon is not
dark, but gets the same amount of sunshine as the near side. The
"Dark Site of the Moon" is an allusion to lunacy. Pink
Floyd mentions do not fit the event.)
Being
on the far side of the moon Chang'e-4 can not directly communicate
with her lover on earth. A special relay satellite was stationed in
the halo orbit some 75,000 kilometer beyond the moon where it can see
the far site of the moon as well as earth. Its name is Queqiao or
Magpie bridge:
Zhi
Nu, the seventh daughter of the goddess of heaven, fell in love with
the cow herder Niu Lang. They lived happily for many years. Both were
sad when Ziu Nu had to return back to heaven. But the goddess of
heaven took pity with the sweethearts and allowed them to be reunited
once every year. On this seventh night of the seventh moon, magpies
form a bridge with their wings in order that Zhi Nu might cross and
meet with her beloved husband. That day (during August) is the
Chinese equivalent of Valentines day.
After
she landed early today Cheng'e-4 took this picture and sent it over
the magpie bridge back to her lovers on earth.
Earlier
today Chang'e-4 autonomously landed on the far site of the moon. This
is the first mission ever that touched down on the half of the moon
that can not be seen from earth. (The far side of the moon is not
dark, but gets the same amount of sunshine as the near side. The
"Dark Site of the Moon" is an allusion to lunacy. Pink
Floyd mentions do not fit the event.)
Being
on the far side of the moon Chang'e-4 can not directly communicate
with her lover on earth. A special relay satellite was stationed in
the halo orbit some 75,000 kilometer beyond the moon where it can see
the far site of the moon as well as earth. Its name is Queqiao or
Magpie bridge:
Zhi
Nu, the seventh daughter of the goddess of heaven, fell in love with
the cow herder Niu Lang. They lived happily for many years. Both were
sad when Ziu Nu had to return back to heaven. But the goddess of
heaven took pity with the sweethearts and allowed them to be reunited
once every year. On this seventh night of the seventh moon, magpies
form a bridge with their wings in order that Zhi Nu might cross and
meet with her beloved husband. That day (during August) is the
Chinese equivalent of Valentines day.
After
she landed early today Cheng'e-4 took this picture and sent it over
the magpie bridge back to her lovers on earth.
The
two metal structures at the top of the picture are the ramps the
Yutu-2 rover later used to roll down onto the moon's surface.
Yutu-2
on the surface of the moon.
via
Cosmic Penguin 
Due
to the distance of the communication the delay between a control
signal from earth and feedback from the far side of the moon is some
6 seconds. Let's hope jade rabbit will 'mind the gap', i.e. the
crater in front of it.
Later
on Yutu-2, the jade rabbit, will drill into the surface and collect
stones. He will pound them in his mortar and check if they contain
the elixir of life.
The
elixir of life is of course water. If mankind is ever to colonize the
moon it will have to find ways to produce it right there. It is
likely that some form of water is available somewhere below the
surface of the moon. The geology of the surface will give hints where
deeper drilling might be justified.
Congratulations
to China and its space engineers. This is an exceptional mission, the
first of its kind, and a great success. It is also a interesting
lecture in Chinese culture.
China
Explores Dark Side Of The Moon - This Is About War Not Space
Jamarl
Thomas
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