b3855a6b2473756ba1c377e7f6528688.jpg (Photo : hnr.cn)
As "selfies" have become pop-culture in the social media milieu, space science finds itself folowing suit with China's lunar probe, the Chang'e 3, taking and sending "selfies" back to earth as well.
The word “selfie” means taking a photograph of one’s self, normally using a digital camera or built-in camera of a smartphone, and uploading them to social media.
The Chang’e 3 consists of a lunar lander and a rover, the Jade Rabbit. Upon its successful landing on the moon on December 1, it transmitted snapshots mutually taken by the lander and the rover. Although the two units are now separated, they are technically part of the same probe. Hence, these snapshots can be technically considered as selfie photographs.
The Chang’e 3 lunar probe is part of the phase II of China’s moon exploration program headed by the China National Space Administration (CNSA).
It is a long-term lunar exploration program that involves the sending of orbiters, lander probes, robotic rover probes, and eventually humans into space.
The first Phase 1 of the program was achieved in 2007 and 2010 with the deployment of lunar orbiters. Phase 2 is currently in development, and will be sending landers and robotic rovers on the surface of the moon. Phase 3 will involve the lunar sample return mission scheduled in 2018. Up to two kilograms of lunar samples are planned to be taken during the phase of the program.
All three phases of the lunar exploration program are aimed at eventually sending Chinese astronauts to the moon by 2025 to 2030. By then, it would be astronauts, not automated probes, that will be taking selfie snapshots.
