China’s moon rover to measure lunar freezing night temperature
Beijing: China’s Chang’e-4 lunar rover, which is exploring the dark side of the moon, will measure the freezing night temperature, scientists said on Sunday.
Chang’e-4, named after a Chinese moon goddess and comprising a lander and a rover, touched down on the dark side of the moon on January 3, the first-ever soft landing on the far side of the moon by any country.
It was a giant leap for cosmic exploration and a major boost to the Communist nation’s quest to become a space superpower. Since the moon’s revolution cycle is the same as its rotation cycle, the same side always faces the Earth.
The other face, most of which cannot be seen from the Earth, is called the far side or the “dark side” of the moon, not because it is dark, but because most of it is uncharted.
A lunar day equals 14 days on the Earth, and a lunar night is the same length. Temperatures vary enormously between day and night on the moon.
Scientists estimate that the highest temperature during the day might reach 127 degrees Celsius, while the lowest at night could fall to minus 183 degrees Celsius. In 2013, China launched Chang’e-3, the country’s first spacecraft to soft-land on the moon. The scientific instruments on its lander are still operating after more than 60 lunar nights in the past five years, state-run Xinhua reported.
“It was a success, but Chang’e-3 was designed according to foreign temperature data,” Zhang He, the executive director of the Chang’e-4 probe project from the China Academy of Space Technology (CAST), told Xinhua.
“Without our own data about lunar temperatures, we don’t know how cold a lunar night can actually be,” Zhang said.
“Chang’e-4 will measure the temperature differences between the day and night on the moon, helping scientists estimate the properties of the lunar soil,” she said.
Tan Mei, a consultant for the probe from CAST, said Chang’e-4 will switch to a “sleep mode” during the lunar night due to the lack of solar power, and rely on the radioisotope heat source, a collaboration between Chinese and Russian scientists, to keep warm.
“We need to transform heat into power to run the thermometry to measure the temperatures of the lunar surface at night,” Tan said. (PTI)
Thieves steal ‘beautiful’ giant bronze hippo in England
London: A giant hippo is missing in England. No, it is not real, and yes, it is made of bronze.
The 6.5-foot goliath statue, weighing at a whopping 1,500 pound was reported stolen on Friday, CNN reported Kent police saying in a news release.
Reportedly, the hippo is believed to have been stolen when someone forced their way into Chilstone Garden Ornaments in Tunbridge Wells.
Taking to Facebook, the business posted, “We are so sad that someone has stolen our beautiful sculpture. We love to show artwork as features in our garden and we are so disappointed that someone would take it. If you have any information please contact Kent Police. Thank you.”
Meanwhile the Kent Police shared a post on Facebook appealing for information on the statue.
The Facebook post sees Police Constable Nick Lingham as saying that the hippo is ‘extremely heavy’ and previously took five people to lift.
He added that it was clear that whoever was responsible would have needed a large vehicle such as a flatbed truck and may have also needed to lift it by mechanical means. He added that because of its sheer size the police is hoping people may have seen it being transported, adding that the police has also asked “members of the public to keep their eyes open and report anything suspicious.” (ANI)