China plans to launch the Queqiao-2 satellite in 2024 to provide relay communication services for the Chang’e-6, 7, and 8 lunar missions, according (CNSA).
China plans to launch the Queqiao-2 satellite in 2024 to provide relay communication services for the Chang’e-6, 7, and 8 lunar missions, according to the China National Space Administration (CNSA).
Wang Qiong, the Chang’e-6 mission’s deputy chief designer, said that the Chang’e-6 probe, which will serve as a backup for the Chang’e-5 probe, will conduct a lunar sample collection mission on the far side of the moon from 2024 to 2025.
Because direct communication with the far side of the moon is not possible, Chang’e-6 will require the assistance of a relay satellite. As a result, China will launch the Queqiao-2 lunar mission in 2024, according to Hu Hao, chief designer of the third phase of China’s lunar exploration project and also chief designer of Chang’e-6.
Hu went on to say that the Queqiao-2 will be of higher overall quality and capability than the Chang’e-4 relay satellite Queqiao.
Queqiao’s designed lifespan is approaching its end, and China intends to launch Queqiao-2 in 2024 before the Chang’e-6 mission for the country’s phase-4 lunar mission, serving Chang’e-6, 7, and 8, Wang added.
The phase-4 lunar mission, which will launch in 2022, will conduct scientific exploration at the lunar south pole in order to facilitate the construction of a basic structure for the International Lunar Research Station in the area by 2035.
Wang went on to say that the Chang’e-6 mission’s goal is to make technological advances in retrograde orbit design, intelligent sampling, take-off and ascent, as well as automatic sampling and return from the moon’s backside, as well as to carry out effective international cooperation.
Relay communication services refer to the use of satellites in orbit to relay communications between different points on Earth. These satellites are positioned in different orbits around the Earth, such as geostationary orbit, low Earth orbit (LEO), medium earth orbit (MEO), and more.
They use radio frequencies to transmit and receive signals to and from ground stations or other satellites, allowing for the relay of communications over long distances.
Satellite relay communication services have the advantage of providing wide coverage and availability of communication services even in remote and hard-to-reach areas, as well as the ability to provide communication services in the event of natural disasters or other emergency situations that can disrupt ground-based communication networks.