Their Rover May Have Only Made it Two Weeks...

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Apollo XX
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Their Rover May Have Only Made it Two Weeks...

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...but their space station just keeps on going!

Launched in 2011, China's Tiangong 1 Space Station http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tiangong-1 was originally planned as a short-duration mission to test technologies for a future, more permanent space establishment. Tiangong 1 was supposed to be de-orbited in 2013, but as of now it still circles the earth in low orbit. Unlike the unfortunate fate of Chang'e 3, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chang'e_3 China's soft-landing moon rover mission, Tiangong 1 continues to operate, although it is unknown by the rest of world what the new mission objectives are, if anything.

Accurate orbital predictions can be found at http://www.heavens-above.com/ , and you too can see this technological spectacle for yourself. Photographed about a month ago, this image shows 30 seconds of a Tiangong 1 transit though the Leo area of the sky

Image

Mike M.
"The purpose of life is the investigation of the Sun, the Moon, and the heavens." - Anaxagoras
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