A lander is a spacecraft that descends towards,comes to rest on,the surface of an astronomical body. In contrast to an impact probe,which makes a hard landing that damages or destroys the probe upon reaching the surface,a lander makes a soft landing after which the probe remains functional.
The space program of the People's Republic of China is directed by the China National Space Administration (CNSA). Its technological roots can be traced back to the late 1950s,when China began a ballistic missile program in response to perceived American threats. However,the first Chinese crewed space program only began several decades later,when an accelerated program of technological development culminated in Yang Liwei's successful 2003 flight aboard Shenzhou 5. This achievement made China the third country to independently send humans into space. Plans currently include a permanent Chinese space station by the end of 2022,crewed expeditions to the Moon,Mars and interplanetary missions to explore the Solar System and beyond.
The Discovery Program is a series of Solar System exploration missions funded by the US National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) through its Planetary Missions Program Office. The cost of each mission is capped at a lower level than missions from NASA's New Frontiers or Flagship Programs. As a result,Discovery missions tend to be more focused on a specific scientific goal rather than serving a general purpose.
The Comet Rendezvous Asteroid Flyby (CRAF) was a cancelled plan for a NASA-led exploratory mission designed by the Jet Propulsion Laboratory during the mid-to-late 1980s and early 1990s,that planned to send a spacecraft to encounter an asteroid,and then to rendezvous with a comet and fly alongside it for nearly three years. The project was eventually canceled when it went over budget;most of the money still left was redirected to its twin spacecraft,Cassini–Huygens,destined for Saturn,so it could survive Congressional budget cutbacks. Most of CRAF's scientific objectives were later accomplished by the smaller NASA spacecraft Stardust and Deep Impact,and by ESA's flagship Rosetta mission.
A sample-return mission is a spacecraft mission to collect and return samples from an extraterrestrial location to Earth for analysis. Sample-return missions may bring back merely atoms and molecules or a deposit of complex compounds such as loose material and rocks. These samples may be obtained in a number of ways,such as soil and rock excavation or a collector array used for capturing particles of solar wind or cometary debris. Nonetheless,concerns have been raised that the return of such samples to planet Earth may endanger Earth itself.
The New Frontiers program is a series of space exploration missions being conducted by NASA with the purpose of furthering the understanding of the Solar System. The program selects medium-class missions which can provide high science returns.
The Chinese Lunar Exploration Program,also known as the Chang'e Project after the Chinese moon goddess Chang'e,is an ongoing series of robotic Moon missions by the China National Space Administration (CNSA). The program incorporates lunar orbiters,landers,rovers and sample return spacecraft,launched using Long March rockets. Launches and flights are monitored by a telemetry,tracking,and command (TT&C) system,which uses 50-meter (160-foot) radio antennas in Beijing and 40-meter (130-foot) antennas in Kunming,Shanghai,and Ürümqi to form a 3,000-kilometer (1,900-mile) VLBI antenna. A proprietary ground application system is responsible for downlink data reception.
Chang'e 2 is a Chinese unmanned lunar probe that was launched on 1 October 2010. It was a follow-up to the Chang'e 1 lunar probe,which was launched in 2007. Chang'e 2 was part of the first phase of the Chinese Lunar Exploration Program,and conducted research from a 100-km-high lunar orbit in preparation for the December 2013 soft landing by the Chang'e 3 lander and rover. Chang'e 2 was similar in design to Chang'e 1,although it featured some technical improvements,including a more advanced onboard camera. Like its predecessor,the probe was named after Chang'e,an ancient Chinese moon goddess.
The Chinese Deep Space Network (CDSN) is a network of large antennas and communication facilities that are used for the interplanetary spacecraft missions of China. It is managed by the China Satellite Launch and Tracking Control Center General (CLTC),which reports to the People's Liberation Army Strategic Support Force Space Systems Department. They also deal with radio-astronomical and radar observations.
A flyby is a spaceflight operation in which a spacecraft passes in proximity to another body,usually a target of its space exploration mission and/or a source of a gravity assist to impel it towards another target. Spacecraft which are specifically designed for this purpose are known as flyby spacecraft,although the term has also been used in regard to asteroid flybys of Earth for example. Important parameters are the time and distance of closest approach.
Tianwen-1 is an interplanetary mission by the China National Space Administration (CNSA) which sent a robotic spacecraft to Mars,consisting of 6 spacecrafts:an orbiter,two deployable cameras,lander,remote camera,and the Zhurong rover. The spacecraft,with a total mass of nearly five tons,is one of the heaviest probes launched to Mars and carries 14 scientific instruments. It is the first in a series of planned missions undertaken by CNSA as part of its Planetary Exploration of China program.
Castalia is a proposed mission concept for a robotic spacecraft to explore the main-belt comet 7968 Elst–Pizarro and make the first in situ measurements of water in the asteroid belt,and thus,help solve the mystery of the origin of Earth's water. The lead is Colin Snodgrass,from The Open University in UK.
Gan De is the tentative name for a planned interplanetary mission by China to study the Jovian system and its environs.
Zhurong is an active Mars rover that is China's first rover to land on another planet. It is part of the Tianwen-1 mission to Mars conducted by the China National Space Administration (CNSA).
The Planetary Exploration of China,also known as Tianwen,is the robotic interplanetary spaceflight program conducted by the China National Space Administration (CNSA). The program aims to explore planets of the Solar System,starting from Mars,and will be expanded to Jupiter and more in the future.
