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in orbit Lunar far side relay satellite. QUEQIAO-2 Tiandu-1: Deep Space Exploration Laboratory: orbiter in orbit will test communications for future lunar satellite constellation technologies. Tiandu-2: orbiter in orbit Chang'e 6: CNSA: 3 May 2024 sample return operational [33]
These can be used by lunar relay satellites to communicate with surface stations on the far side of the Moon. The first to do this was the 2019 Queqiao relay satellite. It was placed around Earth-Moon L2 at roughly 65,000 km (40,000 mi). [citation needed] An example of a halo orbit at the second lunar lagrange point.
Pages in category "Satellites orbiting the Moon" The following 19 pages are in this category, out of 19 total. This list may not reflect recent changes. A.
The lunar orbit's major axis – the longest diameter of the orbit, joining its nearest and farthest points, the perigee and apogee, respectively – makes one complete revolution every 8.85 Earth years, or 3,232.6054 days, as it rotates slowly in the same direction as the Moon itself (direct motion) – meaning precesses eastward by 360°.
Such an orbit can place a satellite in constant sunlight and is useful for imaging, spy, and weather satellites. Frozen orbit: An orbit in which natural drifting due to the central body's shape has been minimized by careful selection of the orbital parameters. Orbit of the Moon: The orbital characteristics of the Moon.
On June 23, 2009, the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter entered into orbit around the Moon after a four-and-a-half-day journey from the Earth. When launched, the spacecraft was aimed at a point ahead of the Moon's position. A mid-course correction was required during the trip in order for the spacecraft to correctly enter Lunar orbit.
A camera aboard Intuitive Machines' Athena lander shows the spacecraft in orbit around the moon with Earth suspended in the deep black of space some 240,000 miles away.
The Moon's orbit is slightly elliptical, with an orbital eccentricity of 0.055. [1] The semi-major axis of the geocentric lunar orbit, called the lunar distance, is approximately 400,000 km (250,000 miles or 1.28 light-seconds), comparable to going around Earth 9.5 times. [178]