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Max Rockatansky
12-17-2013, 07:17 AM
The Chinese robot rover "Yutu" has successfully landed on the Moon and deployed for research.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-25393826

The first robot rover to land on the Moon in nearly 40 years, China's Jade Rabbit, has begun sending back photos, with shots of its lunar lander.

Jade Rabbit rolled down a ramp lowered by the lander and on to the volcanic plain known as Sinus Iridum at 04:35 Beijing time on Saturday (20:35 GMT).


It moved to a spot a few metres away, its historic short journey recorded by the lander.


On Sunday evening the two machines began photographing each other.


A Chinese flag is clearly visible on the Jade Rabbit as it stands deployed on the Moon's surface.


Ma Xingrui, chief commander of China's lunar programme, declared the mission a "complete success".


The first soft landing on the Moon since 1976 is the latest step in China's ambitious space programme, says BBC science reporter Paul Rincon.


The lander will operate there for a year, while the rover is expected to work for some three months.


The Chang'e-3 mission landed some 12 days after being launched atop a Chinese-developed Long March 3B rocket from Xichang in the country's south.


The official Xinhua news service reported that the lander began its descent on Saturday just after 1300 GMT, touching down in Sinus Iridum (the Bay of Rainbows) 11 minutes later.


"I was lucky enough to see a prototype rover in Shanghai a few years ago - it's a wonderful technological achievement to have landed," Prof Andrew Coates, from UCL's Mullard Space Science Laboratory, told BBC News.


Chang'e-3 is the third unmanned rover mission to touch down on the lunar surface, and the first to go there in more than 40 years. The last was an 840kg (1,900lb) Soviet vehicle known as Lunokhod-2, which was kept warm by polonium-210.


But the six-wheeled Chinese vehicle carries a more sophisticated payload, including ground-penetrating radar which will gather measurements of the lunar soil and crust.


The 120kg (260lb) Jade Rabbit rover can reportedly climb slopes of up to 30 degrees and travel at 200m (660ft) per hour.


Its name - chosen in an online poll of 3.4 million voters - derives from an ancient Chinese myth about a rabbit living on the moon as the pet of the lunar goddess Chang'e.


The rover and lander are powered by solar panels but some sources suggest they also carry radioisotope heating units (RHUs), containing plutonium-238 to keep them warm during the cold lunar night.


According to Chinese space scientists, the mission is designed to test new technologies, gather scientific data and build intellectual expertise. It will also scout valuable mineral resources that could one day be mined.


"China's lunar programme is an important component of mankind's activities to explore [the] peaceful use of space," Sun Huixian, a space engineer with the Chinese lunar programme, told Xinhua........
http://news.bbcimg.co.uk/media/images/71757000/jpg/_71757703_020360764-1.jpg

waltky
10-01-2016, 06:01 PM
Granny says dat's when Chinamens can put a hex on ya...
http://www.politicalforum.com/images/smilies/icon_grandma.gif
‘Black Moon’ Starts Friday
September 29, 2016 - This Friday will see the rise of a black moon.


And while that might sound ominous, it’s perfectly normal and probably doesn’t foretell the end of the world as some would say. A black moon is simply the second new moon, or dark moon, of the lunar month. It will be so dark, in fact, that it basically will be invisible because it's not lit by the sun, particularly in the Western Hemisphere. “While you can’t see the moon, it will be a great night for seeing the stars,” according to private forecasting service The Weather Channel.


http://gdb.voanews.com/56F147FE-D1B1-41C4-BB40-F0167A3151D1_w250_r1_s.jpg
The silhouette of the statue of Christ the Redeemer atop Corcovado hill stands out against the full moon in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

While they are normal, black moons are not that common, with the last one occurring in March of 2014. For sticklers, the Western Hemisphere’s new moon officially begins at 12:11 a.m. UTC, according to private forecasting service AccuWeather. For those reading in the eastern Hemisphere, fret not. You’ll have your chance later in the month. “However, these areas will not miss out on a black moon,” AccuWeather said. “Another new moon will occur at the end of the month (of October), giving the eastern Hemisphere a black moon right around Halloween.”

The term black moon is neither scientific nor recognized by NASA, according to the Los Angeles Times. Ian O’Neill, an astrophysicist and the senior producer for space at Discovery News and Seeker.com, told the Times that the black moon has become a topic of conversation thanks to social media, where there was intense interest when a “supermoon” and a “blood moon” occurred. “When you have anything that's the least bit foreboding in the night sky, the media jumps on it,” he said. “Social media has a huge part to play. These things go viral.”

http://www.voanews.com/a/mht-black-moon-starts-friday/3530441.html

Peter1469
10-01-2016, 06:17 PM
It is raining here. can't see it.

Dr. Who
10-01-2016, 06:50 PM
It is raining here. can't see it.
It's overcast here. Couldn't see a moon even if it were full.

Crepitus
10-01-2016, 06:52 PM
Partly cloudy here, I've got a chance to not see it!

Peter1469
10-01-2016, 07:56 PM
It's overcast here. Couldn't see a moon even if it were full.

My best girl and I spent some time on the balcony and couldn't see the sky.... :sad:

Dr. Who
10-01-2016, 08:06 PM
My best girl and I spent some time on the balcony and couldn't see the sky.... :sad:
It's been dark here almost all day. :sad:

Peter1469
10-01-2016, 08:12 PM
It's been dark here almost all day. :sad:

All week for us. Tomorrow should be nice. I want to take her to the areas she finds good deals on houses. In DC. She, I think, will not like those hoods.

Dr. Who
10-01-2016, 08:17 PM
All week for us. Tomorrow should be nice. I want to take her to the areas she finds good deals on houses. In DC. She, I think, will not like those hoods.
There are no "good deals' on houses in DC anywhere that you won't need bars on the windows, double dead-bolts, a security system and an attack dog. :shocked:

Peter1469
10-01-2016, 08:20 PM
There are no "good deals' on houses in DC anywhere that you won't need bars on the windows, double dead-bolts, a security system and an attack dog. :shocked:

If I had not lost those high powered weapons way back when on that fishing trip.....

Anyway- tell her. No property in the DC hood.... :wink: