Queqiao (鹊桥, “Magpie Bridge”), the relay satellite for the Chang'e-4 lunar mission, entered the planned halo orbit around the second Lagrangian (L2) point of the Earth-Moon system, about 65,000 km from the Moon, on 14 June 2018, at 03:06 UTC (11:06 Beijing time). Queqiao was launched by a Long March-4C launch vehicle on 20 May 2018, at 21:28 UTC (21 May, at 05:28 local time) and will provide relay communications for the Chang'e-4 lunar mission (lander and rover), expected to be launched later this year to the Aitken Basin, in the south pole region of the Moon.
Credit: China Central Television
