What infrastructure was necessary for China’s Chang'e 4 mission to communicate during its far side landing?
Answer
A relay satellite
Successfully landing a spacecraft on the far side of the Moon presents a significant communication challenge because the entire body of the Moon obstructs direct radio transmission to Earth control centers. To overcome this obstacle, China’s Chang'e 4 mission, which executed the first soft landing there in January 2019, required the implementation of a relay satellite. This satellite served as an intermediary, receiving signals from the lander behind the occulting body and forwarding them onward to controllers on Earth, thereby demonstrating the necessary infrastructure for sustained deep-space operations behind planetary bodies.
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World first: Chinese spacecraft lands on 'dark' side of moon - YouTube
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