Overview of the Chang'e-4 Mission: Opening the Frontier of Scientific Exploration of the Lunar Far Side

China's Chang'e-4 (CE-4) mission is the first human lander/rover mission on the far side of the Moon. Its probe is composed of a lander, rover, and the Queqiao relay satellite. Queqiao was successfully launched on May 21, 2018, and entered the halo orbit of the L2 point on June 14, becoming the first satellite connecting the Earth and the Moon's far side. The lander carrying Yutu-2 was successfully launched on December 8, 2018, and landed in the Von Karman crater (45.5 degrees S, 177.6 degrees E) at 10:26 (UTC+8) on January 3, 2019. The CE-4 probe carried nine science instruments. Four instruments are on the lander: a landing camera (LCAM), a terrain camera (TCAM), a low-frequency radio spectrometer (LFRS), and a lunar lander neutrons and dosimetry (LND) provided by Germany. Four instruments are on the rover: a panoramic camera (PCAM), a visible and near-infrared imaging spectrometer (VNIS), a lunar penetrating radar (LPR), and an advanced small analyzer for neutrals (ASAN) provided by Sweden. The instrument on the relay satellite is the Netherlands-China Low-Frequency Explorer (NCLE). The scientific objectives of the CE-4 mission include (1) performing low-frequency radio-astronomical observations; (2) investigating the geomorphology, mineral compositions and shallow subsurface structure of the landing and roving sites; and (3) detecting the Earth-Moon space environment at the lunar far side. As of February 1, 2020, CE-4 has completed 14 lunar days of scientific exploration after one year of operation. The components, fight, scientific objectives and investigation of CE-4 are introduced in this paper. We also describe the accessibility of the initial archived science data and their preliminary analysis results.

Automated summary

The Chang'e-4 (CE-4) mission is China's first human lander/rover mission on the far side of the Moon, aimed at conducting scientific exploration and studying the geology, environment, and astronomical phenomena of the lunar far side. The mission carries a variety of scientific instruments, has achieved numerous scientific objectives, and made significant progress in understanding the Moon's far side.