What happened to Chang'e-5's four sisters: Chang'e-1 to Chang'e-4? - CGTN | Canada News Media
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What happened to Chang'e-5's four sisters: Chang'e-1 to Chang'e-4? – CGTN

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China’s Chang’e-5 probe, which is on its way back to Earth with two kilograms of lunar samples, is expected to land on the grasslands of north China’s Inner Mongolia in two to three days. 

As its name suggests, Chang’e-5 is the country’s fifth lunar mission. Unlike its predecessors, this one is the first moon sample return mission.

In order to successfully deliver the precious cargo from the moon to Earth, the four vehicles of the Chang’e-5 probe – lander, ascender, orbiter, and returner- have gone through several separations during the long, complicated round trip. Eventually, only the returner will carry the lunar rock and soil back to Earth.

Before Chang’e-5, China launched four lunar missions from 2007 to 2019. They are all part of the country’s lunar exploration program, known as the Chang’e Project after the Chinese moon goddess.  

Read more: How far has China gone in its lunar exploration plan? 

China’s Chang’e-1 to Chang’e-4 lunar probes didn’t have returners to get them back to Earth. So what happened to them after they completed their missions? Are they still in service?

Chang’e-1 

Chang’e-1, China’s first lunar probe, was launched in October 2007. It was a lunar-orbiting spacecraft that worked 200 km above the moon.

It flew for 494 days before its mission came to an end on March 1, 2009, when it descended from the lunar orbit and executed a controlled crash onto a designated location on the surface of the moon. That was the first imprint that China left on the moon.

Intentionally crashing probes onto the moon is one of the most common ways adopted by different countries to dispose of spacecraft that have concluded their missions.

Chang’e-2 

Chang’e-2 was sent into the lunar orbit in October 2010. It conducted research from an orbit of 100 km above the moon in preparation for the later soft landing of its successors.

After completing its major goal, the probe left the lunar orbit for the Earth–Sun L2 Lagrangian point in August 2011 and started to transmit data from its new position in September 2011. 

In April 2012, Chang’e-2 left the L2 point as it was dispatched on an extended mission to an asteroid named Toutatis. The probe flew by the asteroid in December 2012 and took photos of it. 

A photo of the asteroid Toutatis taken by Chang’e-2. /Xinhua

A photo of the asteroid Toutatis taken by Chang’e-2. /Xinhua

After that, Chang’e-2 began its deep-space journey. It has become a satellite of the solar system, flying around the sun along an elliptical orbit.

The probe has been traveling for more than 10 years. It is expected to return closer to Earth sometime around 2029 to a position about 8 million kilometers from its home planet.

The lander of China’s Chang’e-3 probe on the moon. /Xinhua

The lander of China’s Chang’e-3 probe on the moon. /Xinhua

Launched in December 2013, Chang’e-3 was China’s first probe to make a soft landing on the moon.

The probe, including a lander and China’s first lunar rover called Yutu (Jade Rabbit), touched down at Mare Imbrium (Latin for “Sea of Rains”) on the near side of the moon.

The landing site has been named “Guang Han Gong,” which refers to the “Moon Palace” where Chang’e and Yutu lived according to an ancient Chinese fairy tale.

The lander is still operational, seven years after its landing, which makes it the longest-working spacecraft on the moon. The Yutu rover ceased operations four years ago.

Chang’e-4 

The lander of China’s Chang’e-4 probe on the moon./CNSA

The lander of China’s Chang’e-4 probe on the moon./CNSA

Chang’e-4, also consisting of a lander and a rover named Yutu-2, was launched in January 2019. It achieved humanity’s first soft landing on the far side of the moon. 

Its landing site is a crater called Von Kármán in the South Pole-Aitken Basin, which has been named “Statio Tianhe” in February 2019 under the approval of the International Astronomical Union (IAU). “Tianhe” means Milky Way in Chinese and “Statio” is Latin for base. 

The lander and the rover work during lunar days and switch to dormant mode during lunar nights due to the lack of solar power. A lunar day is equal to 14 days on Earth, and a lunar night is the same length.

So far, Chang’e-4 probe has survived over 700 Earth days on the moon. Yutu-2 rover has traveled 589.6 meters on the lunar surface as of November 22, which far exceeds its three-month design lifespan, becoming the longest-working lunar rover on the moon

Read more: What has China’s Chang’e-4 lunar probe accomplished so far?

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The body of a Ugandan Olympic athlete who was set on fire by her partner is received by family

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NAIROBI, Kenya (AP) — The body of Ugandan Olympic athlete Rebecca Cheptegei — who died after being set on fire by her partner in Kenya — was received Friday by family and anti-femicide crusaders, ahead of her burial a day later.

Cheptegei’s family met with dozens of activists Friday who had marched to the Moi Teaching and Referral Hospital’s morgue in the western city of Eldoret while chanting anti-femicide slogans.

She is the fourth female athlete to have been killed by her partner in Kenya in yet another case of gender-based violence in recent years.

Viola Cheptoo, the founder of Tirop Angels – an organization that was formed in honor of athlete Agnes Tirop, who was stabbed to death in 2021, said stakeholders need to ensure this is the last death of an athlete due to gender-based violence.

“We are here to say that enough is enough, we are tired of burying our sisters due to GBV,” she said.

It was a somber mood at the morgue as athletes and family members viewed Cheptegei’s body which sustained 80% of burns after she was doused with gasoline by her partner Dickson Ndiema. Ndiema sustained 30% burns on his body and later succumbed.

Ndiema and Cheptegei were said to have quarreled over a piece of land that the athlete bought in Kenya, according to a report filed by the local chief.

Cheptegei competed in the women’s marathon at the Paris Olympics less than a month before the attack. She finished in 44th place.

Cheptegei’s father, Joseph, said that the body will make a brief stop at their home in the Endebess area before proceeding to Bukwo in eastern Uganda for a night vigil and burial on Saturday.

“We are in the final part of giving my daughter the last respect,” a visibly distraught Joseph said.

He told reporters last week that Ndiema was stalking and threatening Cheptegei and the family had informed police.

Kenya’s high rates of violence against women have prompted marches by ordinary citizens in towns and cities this year.

Four in 10 women or an estimated 41% of dating or married Kenyan women have experienced physical or sexual violence perpetrated by their current or most recent partner, according to the Kenya Demographic and Health Survey 2022.

The Canadian Press. All rights reserved.

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The ancient jar smashed by a 4-year-old is back on display at an Israeli museum after repair

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TEL AVIV, Israel (AP) — A rare Bronze-Era jar accidentally smashed by a 4-year-old visiting a museum was back on display Wednesday after restoration experts were able to carefully piece the artifact back together.

Last month, a family from northern Israel was visiting the museum when their youngest son tipped over the jar, which smashed into pieces.

Alex Geller, the boy’s father, said his son — the youngest of three — is exceptionally curious, and that the moment he heard the crash, “please let that not be my child” was the first thought that raced through his head.

The jar has been on display at the Hecht Museum in Haifa for 35 years. It was one of the only containers of its size and from that period still complete when it was discovered.

The Bronze Age jar is one of many artifacts exhibited out in the open, part of the Hecht Museum’s vision of letting visitors explore history without glass barriers, said Inbal Rivlin, the director of the museum, which is associated with Haifa University in northern Israel.

It was likely used to hold wine or oil, and dates back to between 2200 and 1500 B.C.

Rivlin and the museum decided to turn the moment, which captured international attention, into a teaching moment, inviting the Geller family back for a special visit and hands-on activity to illustrate the restoration process.

Rivlin added that the incident provided a welcome distraction from the ongoing war in Gaza. “Well, he’s just a kid. So I think that somehow it touches the heart of the people in Israel and around the world,“ said Rivlin.

Roee Shafir, a restoration expert at the museum, said the repairs would be fairly simple, as the pieces were from a single, complete jar. Archaeologists often face the more daunting task of sifting through piles of shards from multiple objects and trying to piece them together.

Experts used 3D technology, hi-resolution videos, and special glue to painstakingly reconstruct the large jar.

Less than two weeks after it broke, the jar went back on display at the museum. The gluing process left small hairline cracks, and a few pieces are missing, but the jar’s impressive size remains.

The only noticeable difference in the exhibit was a new sign reading “please don’t touch.”

The Canadian Press. All rights reserved.

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B.C. sets up a panel on bear deaths, will review conservation officer training

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VICTORIA – The British Columbia government is partnering with a bear welfare group to reduce the number of bears being euthanized in the province.

Nicholas Scapillati, executive director of Grizzly Bear Foundation, said Monday that it comes after months-long discussions with the province on how to protect bears, with the goal to give the animals a “better and second chance at life in the wild.”

Scapillati said what’s exciting about the project is that the government is open to working with outside experts and the public.

“So, they’ll be working through Indigenous knowledge and scientific understanding, bringing in the latest techniques and training expertise from leading experts,” he said in an interview.

B.C. government data show conservation officers destroyed 603 black bears and 23 grizzly bears in 2023, while 154 black bears were killed by officers in the first six months of this year.

Scapillati said the group will publish a report with recommendations by next spring, while an independent oversight committee will be set up to review all bear encounters with conservation officers to provide advice to the government.

Environment Minister George Heyman said in a statement that they are looking for new ways to ensure conservation officers “have the trust of the communities they serve,” and the panel will make recommendations to enhance officer training and improve policies.

Lesley Fox, with the wildlife protection group The Fur-Bearers, said they’ve been calling for such a committee for decades.

“This move demonstrates the government is listening,” said Fox. “I suspect, because of the impending election, their listening skills are potentially a little sharper than they normally are.”

Fox said the partnership came from “a place of long frustration” as provincial conservation officers kill more than 500 black bears every year on average, and the public is “no longer tolerating this kind of approach.”

“I think that the conservation officer service and the B.C. government are aware they need to change, and certainly the public has been asking for it,” said Fox.

Fox said there’s a lot of optimism about the new partnership, but, as with any government, there will likely be a lot of red tape to get through.

“I think speed is going to be important, whether or not the committee has the ability to make change and make change relatively quickly without having to study an issue to death, ” said Fox.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 9, 2024.

The Canadian Press. All rights reserved.

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