Abstract
Relay communication satellites play a very important role on the lunar far side and pole areas exploration missions. Queqiao relay communication satellite was developed to provide relay communication support for the lander and the rover of Chang’e-4 mission landing on the far side of the Moon. From entering into the halo mission orbit around Earth-Moon libration point 2 on June 14, 2018, it has operated on the orbit more than thirty months. It worked very well and provided reliable, continuous relay communication support for the lander and the rover to accomplish the goals of Chang’e-4 lunar far side soft landing and patrol exploration mission. Exploration of the lunar south polar regions is of high scientific interest. A new relay communication satellite for Chinese south pole exploration mission is also under study. The system design and on-orbit operation status of Queqiao relay communication satellite were summarized in this paper. The system concept of the relay communication satellite for lunar south pole exploration missions is proposed. Finally, the future development and prospect of the lunar relay communication satellite system are given.
Highlights
The south pole and the far side of the Moon are ideal places for some scientific investigations
In order to support Chinese south pole exploration mission in the near future, a new relay communication satellite is considered, and the system design concept of this satellite is presented in this paper
The relay communication satellite operating on an orbit around Earth-Moon libration point 2 (EML2) has a limited data rate due to very long communication distance between it and the spacecraft on the lunar surface
Summary
The south pole and the far side of the Moon are ideal places for some scientific investigations. The spacecraft on the lunar nearside always have direct line of sight with Earth, whereas those on the far side of the Moon are always invisible from Earth. The landing assets on the far side of the moon would have to rely on relay spacecraft on the orbit to establish communication contacts with Earth ground stations. The landing sites located on the south pole regions of the Moon are in direct line of sight of the Earth about half the time, in general, two weeks on, two weeks off. In order to support Chinese south pole exploration mission in the near future, a new relay communication satellite is considered, and the system design concept of this satellite is presented in this paper. The future development and prospect of the lunar relay communication satellite system are given
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