Mission Overview
Queqiao-2 is a Chinese artificial satellite to serve as a communications relay for future Chinese lunar far side missions that cannot communicate directly with the Earth, beginning with the Chang'e 6 lunar sample return mission in 2024. It will operate from a Distant Retrograde Orbit (DRO) of the Moon. The launch also carries the Tiandu-1 & 2 small satellites testing cis-lunar space navigation and inter-satellite communication techniques for CNSA’s Deep Space Exploration Laboratory (DSEL).
Payloads
1
Type
Planetary Science
Vehicle
Long March 8
Window
12:21 AM UTC – 02:16 AM UTC
Rocket
CH
China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation
Launch Site
Wenchang Space Launch Site, People's Republic of China