Information about China's communication strategy with Chang'e 6 on the Moon's far side: Employing a system of orbiting satellites.

In the May 2024 issue of our website, we delve into China's ambitious plans for lunar exploration with the proposed Queqiao Constellation.

The first relay satellite, Queqiao, paved the way in 2018, supporting the groundbreaking Chang'e 4 mission, which became the first to land on the lunar far side in January 2019. Now, China is looking to the future with the deployment of Queqiao v1.0, expected to be in place by 2030. This initial phase is set to include Queqiao-2, Queqiao-3, Tiandu-1, and Tiandu-2 test satellites.

Queqiao-2, a larger relay satellite, launched in March 2024 and is currently in a frozen elliptical lunar orbit, capable of supporting missions across the whole of the Moon. This satellite is expected to have improved remote-sensing capabilities, higher bandwidth (1-10 GB/s), and better positioning resolution compared to its predecessor.

The second phase, Queqiao v2.0, is planned for deployment between 2030 and 2040 and would consist of 16 satellites. This constellation is anticipated to have even higher performance, acting as interplanetary relay stations. In addition to supporting lunar missions, the proposed Queqiao Constellation includes star systems such as Alpha Centauri, Barnard's Star, Wolf 1061, and Luyten's Star for navigation, communication, and remote sensing.

The far side of the Moon, always facing away from Earth, poses a significant communication challenge for missions. However, the Queqiao Constellation aims to overcome this obstacle, potentially enabling improved navigation, communication, and remote-sensing services for lunar missions.

One such mission is the Chang'e 6, which aims to return samples from the far side of the Moon. With the Queqiao Constellation in place, these samples could be transmitted back to Earth more efficiently than ever before.

As the details of the Queqiao Constellation continue to unfold, one thing is certain: China is pushing the boundaries of lunar exploration and communication, paving the way for a new era of space discovery.

Information about China's communication strategy with Chang'e 6 on the Moon's far side: Employing a system of orbiting satellites.