The country’s Thuong Nga 5 (Chang’e 5) spacecraft has entered exploration orbit of the first Lagrange point (L1) of the solar-terrestrial system.
In a statement released on March 18, the Beijing Aerospace Surveillance Center said the Chang Nga 5 spacecraft is 936,700 km from Earth and is operating normally. The ship will operate on the solar system – Earth’s L1 point probe orbit with an orbital period of about 6 months.
According to engineers at the above center, the Thuong Nga 5 spacecraft takes about 88 days to get to point L1.
Point L1 is located on the line connecting the Sun and Earth, about 1.5 million km from Earth and has a constant viewing angle for the Sun. It is the point of gravitational equilibrium between the Earth and the Sun, allowing spacecraft to “dock” to make observations. At point L1, spacecraft easily maintain a relatively stable and more fuel-efficient operating state. It is also the best place to constantly observe the Sun or the Sun of the Earth.
There are 5 Lagrange points around large objects like a planet or a star.
