China's Second Lunar Probe Chang'e-2 To Reach Lunar Orbit Faster
Than Chang'e-1 Guiyang, China (XNA) Sep 06, 2010 China's second
lunar probe, the Chang'e-2, will fly much faster than its
predecessor and reach lunar orbit within a shorter period of
time, a top Chinese space scientist told Xinhua here Friday.
China is set to launch the Chang'e-2 lunar probe at the end of
the year. The country launched its first lunar probe, Chang'e-1,
named after China's mythical Moon Goddess, on Oct. 24, 2007,
from southwest China's Sichuan Province. The probe ended its
16-month mission on March 1, 2009, when it crashed into the
moon's surface. "It is estimated Chang'e-2 can reach lunar orbit
within five days, compared to 13 days, 14 hours and 19 minutes
for Chang'e-1," Ouyang Ziyuan, chief scientist at the China
Lunar Exploration Project, told Xinhua. "China has not been to
moon before the country launched Chang'e-1, so we were very
prudent at that time and adjusted its orbit in a very slow
manner. It flew a journey of 2.06 m