First Look: Chang’e 4
February 6, 2019
| Credit | NASA/GSFC/Arizona State University |
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| Historical Date | January 30, 2019 |
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On Jan. 3, 2019 the Chinese spacecraft Chang'e 4 safely landed on the floor of Von Kármán crater (116 miles or 186 kilometers in diameter). Four weeks later, NASA's Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter snapped this spectacular view looking across the floor towards the west wall.
Because LRO was 330 kilometers (205 miles) to the east of the landing site, the Chang'e 4 lander is only about two pixels across (bright spot between the two arrows), and the small rover is not detectable. The massive mountain range in the background is the west wall of Von Kármán crater, rising more than 9850 feet (3000 meters) above the floor.
Area around lander enlarged by a factor of two relative to the native pixel scale; the bright speck between two arrows is the lander. The large crater in the center (just right and below arrows) is about 1440 feet (440 meters) across. Credt: NASA/GSFC/Arizona State University.
