Escorting Chang'e 6

On 4 June 2024, the Chang'e 6 probe successfully completed the back-of-the-moon sampling mission and raised a bright five-star red flag on the lunar surface. Various products developed by SINOMACH provide key protection for the world's first back-of-the-moon sampling.

▲Photo credit: CCTV News

A series of key core technologies, such as table extraction and drilling, are indispensable to the successful acquisition of valuable lunar soil. Among them, surface extraction is to use a mechanical arm carrying a sampling device to shovel moon soil or pick up moon rocks at multiple locations on the lunar surface; drilling is to use a drill rod to drill into the lunar surface at a pre-determined depth to collect moon soil core samples that maintain a "sectional layer sequence", which is much more difficult to sample and has greater uncertainty.
In drilling and sampling, the rotary shaft system of the drilling mechanism independently researched and developed by Luoyang Bearing Research Institute (hereinafter referred to as "LBRI"), a subsidiary of the Group, plays an important role. As the main drive mechanism of the drilling mechanism, this equipment can not only transfer the rotary torque generated by the rotary motor to the drilling tool, but also transfer the impact force generated by the drilling mechanism to the drilling tool to achieve the transmission of rotation and power from the drilling mechanism to the drilling tool, which is equivalent to the arm of Chang'e 6 when drilling and sampling, so as to make it adaptable to a variety of complex and harsh working conditions, and ensure that the equipment can be used for "drilling and sampling" and "drilling". It can adapt to a variety of complex and harsh working conditions to ensure that the equipment "drills stably", and can also make subtle adjustments according to the actual situation to achieve "drilling flexibly".

Chang'e 6 also sent back a series of image maps taken at the back of the moon during this lunar exploration mission, and the products developed by Axis Research Institute also play an important role in this process. Among them, the high-precision, high-vacuum solid lubrication bearings applied to the camera support mechanism of Chang'e 6 ensured the normal and smooth operation of the camera, enabling Chang'e 6 to accurately capture image data; and the bearing components of the centripetal mechanism applied to the solar wing sail plate enabled the solar wing sail plate to rotate flexibly, providing sufficient power for the Chang'e 6 to carry out the filming mission smoothly.

In addition, as the sampling site is located on the back of the moon, the Magpie Bridge II relay star is needed to bridge the communication gap. The high-precision, high-sensitivity, high-vacuum solid lubrication bearings of the microwave coaxial switch provided by the Institute of Shaft Research enable Magpie Bridge 2 to maintain a highly stable, high-precision attitude and angle at all times, and be able to accurately transmit signals received through different bands to the ground.

 

Over the years, SINOMACH has been striving to build a strategic scientific and technological force that helps high-level science and technology to stand on its own feet, and has developed key single machines and a variety of bearing products that have been successively applied to major aerospace projects such as the Shenzhou series of manned spaceships, Tianwen No. 1, and the China Space Station. In the future, SINOMACH will continue to strengthen the key core technology research, rise to the challenge, march forward, and help China's aerospace development to a new level with high-quality self-innovation products and technical services.