Space
21:33, 10-Jan-2019
Chinese space authority and NASA exchanged data on lunar missions: officials
Updated
20:29, 13-Jan-2019
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China's space authority exchanged data with its U.S. counterpart when planning the historic mission to the moon's far side, Chinese officials said.
The China National Space Administration (CNSA) had pre-mission discussions with the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) during which the data was exchanged, CNSA officials told CCTV.
Engineers at NASA's "Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO)" team provided data on the orbit of the LRO to the Chang'e-4 team at the CNSA.
In return, the Chinese agency provided the time and position of the moon landing to the NASA.
The aim of the data exchange was to make sure that the NASA can use the LRO to observe the Chang'e-4, the officials said.
European payloads
In addition to the U.S., the Chang'e-4 team has also cooperated with European space engineers on the mission.
Germany put a "neutron and radiation dose detector" on the moon lander while Swedish engineers set up a "neutral atom detector" on the Yutu-2 rover.
Both detectors have been booted up and are under testing.
The Queqiao relay satellite is also stuffed with a "low-frequency radio detector" built for the Netherlands.
Russia co-built the "radioisotope heat source" that keeps Chang'e-4 from frozen.
There are also monitoring stations on earth set up by the European Space Agency that helps ensure the mission.
"(The) CNSA is open to cooperation with space authorities, space science institutions and space enthusiasts from all countries. Let's explore the secret of the universe together," the CNSA wrote on its website.
(Top photo: The wheel of the Yutu-2 lunar rover. /CNSA Photo)