Queqiao-2

Queqiao-2 relay satellite (<a href="/facts/Simplified_Chinese_characters/UcAD6xXs">Chinese</a>: 鹊桥二号中继卫星; <a href="/facts/Pinyin/pUwjfMXg">pinyin</a>: Quèqiáo èr hào zhōngjì wèixīng; lit. '<a href="/facts/The_Cowherd_and_the_Weaver_Girl/0N171NyB">Magpie Bridge</a> 2 relay satellite'), is the second of the communications relay and radio astronomy satellites designed to support the fourth phase the <a href="/facts/Chinese_Lunar_Exploration_Program/yvU3sNf1">Chinese Lunar Exploration Program</a>, after <a href="/facts/Queqiao_relay_satellite/bJaMNVcU">Queqiao-1</a> launched in 2018. The <a href="/facts/China_National_Space_Administration/q3s4bGYt">China National Space Administration</a> (CNSA) launched the Queqiao-2 relay satellite on 20 March 2024 to an elliptical <a href="/facts/Frozen_orbit/1LqFoscr">frozen orbit</a> around the Moon to support communications from the <a href="/facts/Far_side_of_the_Moon/aUgDPTzj">far side of the Moon</a> and the <a href="/facts/Lunar_south_pole/MCnRywgR">Lunar south pole</a>.
The name Queqiao (ch'wuh-ch'yow, "Magpie Bridge") was inspired by and came from the Chinese tale <a href="/facts/The_Cowherd_and_the_Weaver_Girl/0N171NyB">The Cowherd and the Weaver Girl</a>.

Queqiao-2 open-in-new

Queqiao-2