The Change 3 Lander is a Chinese robotic spacecraft designed to land on the Moon and perform a variety of scientific tasks. It was launched on December 1, 2013, as part of the Chang’e 3 mission, and became the first spacecraft to soft-land on the Moon since 1976. The lander carries a number of instruments for conducting experiments and taking measurements, and is equipped with a small rover named Yutu (Chinese: 玉兔; pinyin: yù tù), which is designed to explore the lunar surface.
The Change 3 Lander has been described as one of the most complex and challenging space missions ever undertaken by China. The spacecraft had to be designed to operate in the extremely harsh environment of space, and withstand the extreme temperatures, vacuum conditions, and radiation levels present on the lunar surface. In addition, the landing site had to be carefully chosen in order to ensure that the lander would not be damaged during touchdown.
The Change 3 Lander successfully touched down on December 14, 2013 at Sinus Iridum (“Bay of Rainbows”), becoming only the third craft to make a controlled landing on the Moon (after Russia’s Luna 9 in 1966 and America’s Apollo 11 in 1969). Following its landing, the rover deployed from its underside and began exploring the lunar surface. As of 2019, boththe landerand rover are still operational.
The Change 3 mission represents a major achievement for China’s burgeoning space program, which has made significant strides in recent years. The successful completion of this mission puts China firmly among the ranks of international leaders in space exploration.