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By Albee Zhang and Ryan Woo<\/p>\n
BEIJING (Reuters) -China on Wednesday launched a satellite that will act as a communications bridge between ground operations on Earth and an upcoming mission on the far side of the moon, marking a new phase in the country’s long-term lunar exploration programme.<\/p>\n
A Long March 8 rocket carrying the 1.2-metric ton Queqiao-2, named after a mythological bridge made of magpies, and two miniature satellites, Tiandu-1 and -2, blasted off from the southern island province of Hainan, state media reported.<\/p>\n
The moon’s near side always faces Earth. That means data transfers from the far side are impossible as there is no direct line of sight.<\/p>\n
Queqiao-2 will orbit the moon and relay signals to and from the Chang’e-6 mission, expected to be launched in May. The robotic Chang’e-6 mission will seek to retrieve samples from an ancient basin, acquiring lunar material from the moon’s hidden side for the first time.<\/p>\n
Queqiao-2 will also be used as a relay platform for the Chang’e-7 lunar mission in 2026 and the Chang’e-8 mission in 2028.<\/p>\n
By 2040, Queqiao-2 will be part of a constellation of relay satellites serving as a communications bridge for crewed lunar missions and exploration on other planets like Mars and Venus.<\/p>\n
The Tiandu-1 and -2 miniature satellites will conduct tests for the construction a constellation.<\/p>\n
The constellation will also provide communications, navigation and remote sensing support for China’s research station planned for the moon’s south pole.<\/p>\n
Queqiao-2 has a designed lifespan of at least eight years and will take over from Queqiao-1, launched in 2018.<\/p>\n
Queqiao-1, which has a designed lifespan of five years and is just a third as massive as Queqiao-2, was the first relay satellite deployed to the far side of the moon.<\/p>\n
In 2019, Chang’e-4 was the first spacecraft to perform a soft landing on the far side of the moon.<\/p>\n
(Reporting by Albee Zhang and Ryan Woo; Editing by Muralikumar Anantharaman)<\/p>\n<\/div>\n