Chinese rover powers up devices in pioneering moon mission
phys.org
phys.org
†I understand that that would put the lander out of contact during that part of the relay-sat orbit, but it would also completely rule out a major source of potential radio interference during observational periods, which strikes me as an even more important consideration. Data can be stored and batched, after all.
In addition, there is a little rover[1]. NASA rovers since Pathfinder have had some automated driving, I imagine the Chinese can easily do the same, but manually steering is still nice and hence the rover is more useful if you can be in "live" contact with it for longer.
Also, orbiting the moon would give you coverage much less than half the time, and you’d need to track the satellite across the sky from the lander
It's a cool instrument in that it's antenna are stored as a flat roll but extend out as hollow, rigid tubes.
"Harvard University astronomer Avi Loeb noted, however, that the relay satellite needed to send back information from the far side also contaminates the sky."
Does that mean the international community needs to agree a protocol to establish periods of radio silence for objects on the far side of the moon, and for lunar orbiting satellites, so as not to interfere with future radio astronomy instruments?
This is 2019 after all and I'm pretty sure the Chinese know a thing or two about manufacturing cameras.
The Chinese also know a thing or two about power budgets, bandwidth limitations and optimising between function and vanity. Low quality rover photos show they’re optimising for function, not propaganda value. That’s good. (They’re also awesome pictures.)
The issue is not power budget, bandwidth or optimisation between function and vanity. Moon has plenty of sunlight, the bandwidth on an Earth-Moon link is very good and there's really no difference between vanity and function in terms of implementation here.
The real reasons here are a) the Space Grade™ plague, b) radiation hardening and durability and c) limited value in high quality photos.
non-web engineering on big total budget but limited per part projects is very, very conservative.
The rover is on the far side of the moon. It relies on a single relay satellite at the Earth-Moon L2 [1]. This relay satellite had to be installed specifically for this mission.
> Moon has plenty of sunlight
Spaceflight is expensive. Every watt for a better camera means a watt away from scientific equipment. Power on such missions is micromanaged by necessity.
The functional purpose of the camera is in assisting dis-mounting and post-dismounting inspection. It did that. It also sent home good pictures.
Also every watt that you can add to the system without taking it away from something else is another watt you need to radiate away after it's done its job. Thermal management is paramount in space missions.
This does not answer your question, however, 'white balance' is a thing when it comes to space.
The last thing I expected to see was a brownish lunar surface, considering one of the most notable things about the Apollo photos is their B&W appearance except for the lunar lander and american flag colors.
https://www.flickr.com/photos/projectapolloarchive/210374815...