China is Building a Lunar Satellite Constellation | Dongfang Hour

China is Building a Lunar Satellite Constellation | Dongfang Hour

As China ramps up its lunar exploration program in the coming decade, space-based lunar infrastructure is going to be a key enabler. Spacecraft and ground-based vehicles will increasingly need positioning and communication services. This is why China has launched a plan to establish a lunar satellite constellation called the "Queqiao constellation". The focus on the far side and the lunar south pole also means that communications will require relay satellites.

In preparation for this lunar constellation, expected in the 2030s, China has been launching single Queqiao spacecraft: the "Queqiao" in 2018, "Queqiao-2" in March 2024, and "Queqiao-3" by the end of the decade.

In this video, we cover this quest for lunar infrastructure, a low key, but essential milestone, for the establishment of China's future lunar outpost, the International Lunar Research Station (ILRS).

00:00 Introduction

00:17 Lunar exploration & tidal locking

01:11 Queqiao-1 and Queqiao-2 relay missions

03:11 Launching the Queqiao lunar constellation

05:47 Equivalent projects by NASA and ESA

Video Credit: Dongfang Hour

Release Date: April 26, 2024

Duration: 6 minutes, 53 seconds

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