On December 7th, 2018 at 1823 UTC the Chinese launched the much anticipated Chang’e 4 mission to the far side of the Moon. Unfortunately, the launch was not broadcast live nor has there been much in the way of official word on what is going on with the mission. Fortunately, we have both the Chang’e program history and Chang’e 4’s transmitter to help us fill in the blanks of what to expect and witness history in realtime without a filter.
So for those not accustomed to watching a space first unfold in the language of the Doppler effect here’s a primer of what has happened and what to expect.
Riddles in the Sky 