China set to launch sample return mission to the Moon - TWIRL #162

We have several launches coming up This Week in Rocket Launches, but the most notable will be a sample return mission to the Moon by China. It is part of its Chang’e missions and will involve four modules: two in lunar orbit, which will bring the sample back to Earth, a sample collection unit, which will drill for a sample, and an ascent vehicle, which will take the sample from the surface to the orbiting modules.

Sunday, 28 April

• Who: SpaceX
• What: Falcon 9
• When: 12:34 a.m. UTC
• Where: Florida, US
• Why: SpaceX will be using a Falcon 9 to launch Galileo 29 and 30 for the European Space Agency. They will make up part of the Galileo navigation constellation, which complements the United States GPS satellites on smartphones and so on for positioning purposes.

• Who: SpaceX
• What: Falcon 9
• When: 9:50 p.m. - 1:50 a.m. UTC
• Where: Florida, US
• Why: SpaceX will be launching Starlink satellites into a low Earth orbit. This group of 23 satellites is known as Starlink Group 6-54; this identifier can be used on apps like ISS Detector to see when they will be flying over your house. After take-off, SpaceX will attempt to launch the first stage of the Falcon 9 so that it can be reused. These satellites beam internet back down to Starlink customers on Earth.

Wednesday, 1 May

• Who: SpaceX
• What: Falcon 9
• When: 6:30 p.m. - 11:00 p.m. UTC
• Where: California, US
• Why: SpaceX will use a Falcon 9 to launch the first two WorldView Legion Earth observation satellites for Maxar Technologies. They will be placed into a Sun-synchronous orbit, where they will perform different monitoring activities such as the surveillance of natural disasters, pollution, and oil spills and detect activities such as illegal fishing, piracy, drug smuggling, or human trafficking. There will be six satellites in this constellation eventually.

Friday, 3 May

• Who: CNSA
• What: Long March 5
• When: 8:00 a.m. UTC
• Where: Wenchang, China
• Why: China will launch the Chang’e 3 sample return mission to the Moon. It’s the country’s seventh mission of its robotic lunar exploration programme, Chang’e. This mission is complex, two modules will stay in lunar orbit while a sample collector and ascent vehicle will land at the Aitken basin at the south pole. The collector will drill two metres underground for a sample, and the ascent vehicle will take it back up to the modules in orbit, which will then fly the samples back to Earth for inspection.

Saturday, 4 May

• Who: SpaceX
• What: Falcon 9
• When: 2:59 a.m. UTC
• Where: California, US
• Why: SpaceX will use a Falcon 9 to launch 22 Starlink satellites to a low Earth orbit. It could include more direct-to-cell Starlink satellites, which we have spoken about before. Like other Starlink missions, the first stage of the Falcon 9 should land back on Earth ready for reuse.

Recap

• The first launch we got last week was a Falcon 9 carrying Starlink satellites to orbit. After the launch, the first stage of the rocket performed a landing for reuse.

• Next, a Rocket Lab Electron rocket launched NASA’s Advanced Composite Solar Sail System (ACS3) and KAIST’s NeonSat-1 Earth observation satellite from Mahia, New Zealand.

• Finally, China launched a Long March 2F Y18 topped with the Shenzhou-18 crew spacecraft to its space station. The astronauts being launched included Guangfu Ye, Cong Li, and Guangsu Li.

That’s all we have this week. Be sure to check in next time!