China’s quest to become a space science superpower

[tao]

With major spaceflight milestones behind it, China is working to build an international reputation for space science.

 

Time seems to move faster at the National Space Science Center on the outskirts of Beijing. Researchers are rushing around this brand-new compound of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS) in anticipation of the launch of the nation's first X-ray telescope. At mission control, a gigantic screen plays a looping video showcasing the country's major space milestones. Engineers focus intently on their computer screens while a state television crew orbits the room with cameras, collecting footage for a documentary about China's meteoric rise as a space power. The walls are festooned with motivational slogans. “Diligent and meticulous,” says one. “No single failure in 10,000 trials,” encourages another.

 

For director-general Wu Ji, this 19.4-hectare, 914-million-yuan (US$135-million) campus represents the coming of age of China's space-science efforts. In the past few decades, Wu says, China has built the capacity to place satellites and astronauts in orbit and send spacecraft to the Moon, but it has not done much significant research from its increasingly lofty vantage point. Now, that is changing. “As far as space science is concerned,” he says, “we are the new kid on the block.”

 

China is rushing to establish itself as a leader in the field. In 2013, a 1.2-tonne spacecraft called Chang'e-3 landed on the Moon, delivering a rover that used ground-penetrating radar to measure the lunar subsurface with unprecedented resolution. China's latest space lab, which launched in September 2016, carries more than a dozen scientific payloads. And four additional missions dedicated to astrophysics and other fields have been sent into orbit in the past two years, including a spacecraft that is conducting pioneering experiments in quantum communication.

 

These efforts, the work of the CAS and other agencies, have made an impact well beyond the country's borders. “The space-science programme in China is extremely dynamic and innovative,” says Johann-Dietrich Wörner, director-general of the European Space Agency (ESA) in Paris. “It's at the forefront of scientific discovery.” Eagerly anticipated missions in the coming decade include attempts to bring back lunar samples, a joint CAS–ESA project to study space weather and ground-breaking missions to probe dark matter and black holes.

 

But despite the momentum, many researchers in China worry about the nation's future in space science. On 2 July, a Long March-5 rocket failed during the launch of a communications satellite, raising concerns about an upcoming Moon mission that will use a similar vehicle. And broader issues cloud the horizon. “The international and domestic challenges are formidable,” says Li Chunlai, deputy director at the CAS's National Astronomical Observatories in Beijing and a senior science adviser on the country's lunar programme. China is often sidelined in international collaboration, and in recent years it has had to compete with the United States for partners because of a US law that prohibits NASA from working with China. Within China, the government has not conducted strategic planning for space science or provided long-term financial support. “The question is not how well China has been doing,” says Li. “But how long this will last.”

Reaching for the Moon

China's entry into the space age started with a song. In 1970, the country's first satellite transmitted the patriotic tune 'The East is Red' from low Earth orbit. But it was only after the cultural revolution ended in 1976 that the nation made serious progress towards establishing a strong presence in space. The first major milestone came in 1999 with the launch of Shenzhou-1, an uncrewed test capsule that marked the start of the human space-flight programme. Since then, the country has notched up a series of successes, including sending Chinese astronauts into orbit and launching two space labs (see 'Earth orbit and beyond').

Earth orbit and beyond

After achieving major space-flight milestones, China has put more support behind missions with scientific aims.

 

1970 China launches its first satellite, Dongfanghong-1 (pictured, above).

1999 The launch of the uncrewed Shenzhou-1 test capsule kicks off  China's human space-flight programme.

2003 Astronaut Yang Liwei flies aboard Shenzhou-5 on China's first crewed mission to orbit.

2007 China’s first lunar orbiter, Chang’e-1, is launched.

2011 China’s first space lab, Tiangong-1, reaches orbit.

2013 The lunar spacecraft Chang’e-3 makes the country’s first soft landing on the Moon.

2015 The Dark Matter Particle Explorer (DAMPE) reaches Earth’s orbit.

2016 The Tiangong-2 space lab launches, carrying 14 science experiments.

2017 China launches its first X-ray telescope, the Hard X-Ray Modulation Telescope (HXMT).

2017 China plans to launch Chang’e-5 (pictured, below) on a mission to bring lunar samples to Earth.

 

Please, if interested, read the rest of the long article < here >.

 

[tao]

1 minute ago, 0bin said:

Are we still friends?

When were we not friends, brother? 

[tao]

Don't sweat for fleeting states (they arise, last a few moments, and set; unwise it's to hold on to, especially anger).

 

Contemplate, if you like:

 

"Holding on to anger is like grasping a hot coal with the intent of throwing it at someone else; you are the one who gets burned."

 

and

 

"Better than a thousand useless words is one word that gives peace."  ~ Buddha  

[tao]

11 minutes ago, 0bin said:

Satya.

Which (truth) is as real as, and owes its existence to, a-satya (false).  Two sides of the same coin.  

[tao]

2 hours ago, 0bin said:

...What is the name of the guardians of shangri-la?

Sorry, brother; i'm not into trivia. 

[tao]

8 minutes ago, 0bin said:

Was a article I red about guardians of shangri-la, no game, I wanted to know if the guardians has a name in history, religion or philosophy.

Only that, thank you anyway.

 The best reference is < here >.