
China lunar rover successfully touches down on far side of the moon - DoreenMichele
https://www.cnn.com/2019/01/02/health/china-lunar-rover-far-moon-landing-intl/index.html
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wrycoder
“ One technological hurdle in targeting the side of the moon that constantly
faces away from Earth is that direct communication with the spacecraft is not
possible. Instead messages to and from Chang’e 4 are being relayed by the
Queqiao (Magpie Bridge) satellite, which is in a “halo orbit” on the other
side of the moon.” — from a Chinese release

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A2017U1
Wikipedia seems to say the rover mission duration is 3 months, yet the
previous rover traveled for a year and transmitted a bit longer. The Chinese
seemed quite coy about it failing last time (as with many things) so perhaps
underpromising in this case?

The article doesn't mention it either but I thought this was all preparation
for China's planned permanent radio telescope on the far side which would be a
huge boon for astronomers by escaping Earth's EM interference.

Also out left field is the 3kg "self sustaining" biosphere of silkworms and
plants with a camera inside. Interested to see how long it survives.

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londons_explore
It must use a lot of energy to keep that biosphere constant-ish temperature
the whole time.

I assume it needs to be fully enclosed and use artificial (electric) lighting.
In that case, I wonder the use of sending it to the moon at all.

