Chang'e-2 Travels Around L2 in Outer Space
UPDATED: 2011-09-01
BEIJING, Aug. 31 (China Space News) — China's second moon orbiter, the Chang'e-2, has arrived in outer space about 1.5 million km away from Earth and is now orbiting the second Lagrange Point (L2), where gravity from the sun and Earth balances the orbital motion of a satellite, Chinese scientists said Tuesday.
Chang'e-2 entered L2's orbit at 11:27 p.m. last Thursday after spending 77 days traveling away from its previous orbital path around the moon, according to the State Administration of Science, Technology and Industry for National Defence (SASTIND).
The SASTIND said that China is now the world's third country or organization to successfully put a spacecraft into orbit around L2, after the European Space Agency (ESA) and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) of the United States.
The Chang'e-2 orbiter will carry out exploration activities around L2 in the coming year, SASTIND said.
Chang'e-2 entered L2's orbit at 11:27 p.m. last Thursday after spending 77 days traveling away from its previous orbital path around the moon, according to the State Administration of Science, Technology and Industry for National Defence (SASTIND).
The SASTIND said that China is now the world's third country or organization to successfully put a spacecraft into orbit around L2, after the European Space Agency (ESA) and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) of the United States.
The Chang'e-2 orbiter will carry out exploration activities around L2 in the coming year, SASTIND said.