CHINA YAWA NCHI YA TATU KUGUSA MWEZI
China Becomes Third Country to Ever 'Soft-Land' on the Moon
China Becomes Third Country to Ever 'Soft-Land' on the Moon
A Chinese lunar rover landed Saturday, making China the third country to ever successfully 'soft-land' on the moon.
On Saturday morning, Chinese state television reported the Chang'e-3,
an unmanned spacecraft carrying a lunar rover that will carry out
experiments and collect geological samples, "soft-landed" on the moon. The ship left earth about two weeks ago. A
soft-landing occurs when the rocket is designed to touch down as gently
as possible. Yes, they are generally preferred to hard landings.
Unfortunately, landing on the moon in the 21st century is still a pretty big deal. Only three countries have ever soft-landed on the moon—
the United States, the U.S.S.R. and now China. You'll notice one
doesn't even exist anymore. But let's not be too hard on the U.S.S.R.
because they were also the last country to carry out a similar mission,
almost four decades ago — all the way back in 1976.
China's
lunar rover, also known as the Jade Rabbit, will spend three months on
the moon digging dirt and collecting samples, with tools that can reach
30 meters into the ground. CNN has more on the Jade Rabbit
Weighing 140 kilograms, the slow-moving rover carries an optical
telescope for astronomical observations and a powerful ultraviolet
camera that will monitor how solar activity affects the various layers
-- troposphere, stratosphere and ionosphere -- that make up the Earth's
atmosphere, China's information technology ministry said in a statement.
source:yahoo
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