Longjiang-2 / LO-94 in Lunar Orbit

Longjiang-2 / LO-94 in Lunar Orbit

A cartoon movie has been made that tells the story of the student-built spacecraft Longjiang-2 / Lunar-OSCAR-94 which went into lunar orbit and transmitted SSDV images back to radio amateurs on Earth.

SSDV image of Moon and Earth taken by LO-94 (Longjiang-2) - Credit Cees Bassa

SSDV image of Moon and Earth taken by LO-94 (Longjiang-2) – Credit Cees Bassa

Longjiang-2 / LO-94, developed by students and researchers at the Harbin Institute of Technology, is the world’s smallest spacecraft to enter lunar orbit independently. It was launched on May 20, 2018 and radio amateurs tracked its progress as it traveled towards the Moon and successfully entered lunar orbit.

The spacecraft transmitted signals back to Earth on 435.400 and 436.400 MHz. The amateur radio mode SSDV (Slow Scan Digital Video) was used to send back pictures of the Moon and WSJT JT4G was used for messages.

Two VHF/UHF SDR transceivers onboard were used to provide the beacon, telemetry, telecommand, digital image downlink and a GMSK-JT4 repeater, transmitting power was about 2 watts.

Watch Longjiang-2: Journey to the Moon
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LGi1aACPA4A]

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