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Lunar satellite crash site found by Ham

Discussion in 'Amateur Radio News' started by W0PV, Nov 22, 2019.

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  1. W0PV

    W0PV Ham Member QRZ Page

    As reported in Universe Today and on the web site of the radio amateur credited with the discovery. Extensive text excerpts with links below.

    73 John WØPV

    [​IMG]

    Among amateur astronomists (sic) and citizen scientists, Daniel Estévez is a well-known figure. In addition to being an amateur radio operator with a PhD in Mathematics and a BSc in Computer Science, Estévez is also an amateur spacecraft tracker. It was he who, in May of 2019, made an official estimate on when the Longjiang-2 satellite would crash on the lunar surface.

    (article continued below)
    ------------------------
    From the Short Bio on the Daniel Estévez home page and blog site,

    I am an Amateur Radio operator (Spanish callsign EA4GPZ, UK callsign M0HXM) and I am especially interested in the scientific and technical aspects of radio.

    My research interests encompass anything having to do with radio, even if only tangentially. Some of my usual topics involve space communications (especially small satellites), using RF for the purposes of measurement (radar, Doppler measurements, polarization, etc.), and processing RF recordings to extract data. I usually perform my research rather informally, since I do it in my free time for fun and personal development. Recently I’ve become interested in other topics such as orbital dynamics and radio astronomy. I also like applying advanced mathematics to these problems.

    -----------------
    (article continued from above)

    On May 20th, 2018, the China National Space Agency (CNSA) launched the Queqiao spacecraft, the vehicle that would deliver the Chang’e-4 mission to the Moon. This vehicle was also responsible for transporting a lesser-known mission to the Moon, known as the Longjiang twin spacecraft. This package consisted of two satellites designed to fly in formation and validate technologies for low-frequency radio astronomy.

    While Queqiao flew beyond the Moon to act as a communications relay for the Chang’e-4 lander, the Longjiang satellites were to enter orbit around the moon. On July 31st, 2019, after more than a year in operation, the Longjiang-2 satellite deorbited crashed on the lunar surface. And thanks to efforts spacecraft tracker Daniel Estévez and his colleagues, the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO) was able to photograph the impact site.

    On his website, Estévez captured the significance of this event eloquently and was sure to share the credit with those colleagues who helped make it possible: “This is amazing, as in some way it represents the definitive end of the DSLWP-B mission (besides all the science data we still need to process) and it validates the accuracy of the calculations we did to locate the crash site. I feel that I should give due credit to all the people involved in the location of the impact.”

    Moreover, it demonstrates the important role played by amateur astronomers and citizen scientists in the current era of space exploration. Kudos to Estévez and his colleagues! Not bad for an amateur tracker!

    Further Reading: LROC

    Read entire article from Universe Today author Matt Williams - The Impact Site of China’s Longjiang-2 Spacecraft has Been Found on the Moon
     
    Last edited: Nov 22, 2019
    HB9AIS, N8LSD, K8SD and 12 others like this.
  2. W7SJP

    W7SJP Ham Member QRZ Page

    Awesome! Congrats & 73 Daniel!
     
    W7LDG, KE9OL and SV1RZD like this.
  3. W0PV

    W0PV Ham Member QRZ Page

    K2NCC and KE9OL like this.
  4. KE9OL

    KE9OL Ham Member QRZ Page

    VERY KOOL:cool: MR. Daniel Estévez, BIG FAT BRAINS NEED LOTS OF OUTLETS.
     
  5. N2AMM

    N2AMM Ham Member QRZ Page

    Dr. Dan rocks!
     
  6. KE7DRT

    KE7DRT Ham Member QRZ Page

    Phenomenal! Amazing work sir.
     
  7. VU2USA

    VU2USA Ham Member QRZ Page

    Congrats Daniel
     
  8. N4GNO/SK2022

    N4GNO/SK2022 Ham Member QRZ Page

    congratulations on your work
     
  9. G3SEA

    G3SEA Ham Member QRZ Page

    Cool !
    Per Ardua Ad Astra ! :cool:

    G3SEA/KH6
     
    AC1RE likes this.
  10. W7UUU

    W7UUU Director, QRZ Forums Lifetime Member 133 QRZ HQ Staff Life Member QRZ Page

    Just another vote of "this is really really cool"

    Dave
    W7UUU
     
  11. K8HTL

    K8HTL Platinum Subscriber Platinum Subscriber QRZ Page

    Dang....I can't find where I sat my car keys last!
     
  12. W6SFG

    W6SFG XML Subscriber QRZ Page

    Congratulations & Kudos! I can't even find my car keys in my own house so finding a crashed satellite in the surface on the moon is AMAZING.
     

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