French DORN instrument on Chinese Chang’e 6 probe completes its missionDORN is the first collaboration between France and China in the field of planetary science.
New Delhi: The first active French instruments deployed on the lunar surface has completed its mission.
The Detection of Outgassing Radon (DORN) instrument was ferried to the Moon by the Chinese Chang’e 6 mission.
The Chang’e 6 sample return missionThe ambitious Chang’e 6 sample return mission was launched by a Long March 5 rocket on 03 May, 2024.
The researchers will carry out the storage and processing of the lunar samples, and then initiate scientific work.
French DORN instrument on Chinese Chang’e 6 probe completes its mission
DORN is the first collaboration between France and China in the field of planetary science.
Illustration of the Chang’e lander on the lunar surface. (Image Credit: CNES).
New Delhi: The first active French instruments deployed on the lunar surface has completed its mission. The Detection of Outgassing Radon (DORN) instrument was ferried to the Moon by the Chinese Chang’e 6 mission. The instrument was switched on for the first time during the cruise to the Moon, for a duration of ten hours, to measure the background noise of the space environment, and detect any terrestrial contamination. After the lunar orbit insertion on 8 May, DORN began orbital measurements, a few days after the passage of the most intense solar storm in two decades.
The measurements were extended to 18 and 19 May, for a total duration of 32 hours. The data relayed back to Earth allowed the ground teams to determine that the 16 detectors on the instrument had survived the bumpy ride to space and were operating nominally. DORN was able to track the changes in energetic particles streaming out of the Sun, as well as how the Moon shields these particles. The instrument went on to operate for nearly five days or 111 hours, tracking radon and polonium distribution in the tenuous atmosphere of the Moon.
After the landing on 28 May on the southern rim of the Apollo crater, DORN became a permanent resident of the Moon. The project was initiated in 2019, and was the first cooperation between France and China in the field of Solar System exploration. China is actively inviting foreign participation in its lunar exploration programme, and is reaching out to the international scientific community for payloads on the Chang’e 8 mission, which is headed to the south pole of the Moon.
The Chang’e 6 sample return mission
The ambitious Chang’e 6 sample return mission was launched by a Long March 5 rocket on 03 May, 2024. It was the first mission to successfully return samples from the lunar far side to the Earth, with Chinese scientists opening the return in a ceremony on 27 June, in Beijing, two days after the Sample Returner element landed in the deserts of Inner Mongolia. CNSA has revealed that it has collected 1,935.3 grams of samples, which is just 65 grams short of the goal of the mission. The researchers will carry out the storage and processing of the lunar samples, and then initiate scientific work.
