4 deep space explorations by 2030
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CHINA is planning four deep space exploration missions before 2030, including probes to Mars, asteroids and Jupiter.
Pei Zhaoyu, deputy director of the Lunar Exploration and Space Program Center of the China National Space Administration, said China would launch its first Mars probe in 2020, and it was expected to orbit around, land and put a rover on the Red Planet.
The country also plans to probe asteroids around 2022, followed by a probe in 2028 to bring Mars samples back to the Earth. An exploration mission to the Jupiter system is planned around 2029.
Lunar and deep space exploration are important for China’s endeavor to become a major space power, Pei said.
As for a manned lunar landing, Pei said he thought a launch vehicle is still the largest technical challenge, and the huge costs should also be taken into consideration.
Based on China’s circumstances, he proposed an unmanned lunar research station in about 10 years to accumulate technical expertise, and a lunar research and development base around 2050.
The base would be operated by robots over the long term and visited by humans, Pei envisioned.
China is also striving to send a group of new satellites into orbit around 2020, as part of the country’s fast expanding space science program.
The satellites include a Sino-European joint mission that will focus on the interaction between the solar wind and the Earth magnetosphere, according to Wang Chi, director of the National Space Science Center under the Chinese Academy of Sciences.
The Solar Wind Magnetosphere Ionosphere Link Explorer, or SMILE, will also help to study magnetospheric substorms, so as to further our understanding of the impact of solar activities on the Earth’s environment and space weather, Wang said.
The Einstein-Probe, also among the new satellites, is tasked with discovering celestial bodies that emit X-rays during fierce changes as well as quiescent black holes with transient high-energy radiation.
The satellites also include the Advanced Space-borne Solar Observatory and the Gravitational Wave Electromagnetic Counterpart All-sky Monitor. The former will help scientists to understand the causality among magnetic fields, flares and coronal mass ejections, and the latter is aimed at searching for electromagnetic signals associated with gravitational waves.
The Water Cycle Observation Mission will become the world’s first satellite to help scientists to better understand the Earth’s water cycle by simultaneous and fast measurement of key parameters such as soil moisture, ocean salinity and ocean surface evaporation.
The Magnetosphere-Ionosphere-Thermosphere Coupling Exploration is also in the satellite group. It aims at investigating the origin of upflow ions and their acceleration mechanism, and discovering the key mechanism for the magnetosphere, ionosphere and thermosphere coupling.
While Europe and the United States have traditionally led in scientific development, China has emerged as a new science and technology player.
At the beginning of next month, China is to launch Gaofen-5, a hyperspectral imaging satellite for Earth observation.
The new satellite, capable of obtaining spectral information from ultraviolet to long-wave infrared radiation, can be used to survey inland waters and mineral resources, said Tong Xudong, director of the Earth Observation System and Data Center of the China National Space Administration. The satellite can also monitor air pollutants, greenhouse gases and aerosol particles.
To make the best use of observational data and serve countries covered by the Belt and Road Initiative, the CNSA released an international cooperation plan for Gaofen-5, specifying fields that will be open for cooperation and commercial service.
The administration also plans to launch Gaofen-6 this year, so as to form a constellation with other Gaofen satellites in orbit.
Since the Gaofen project began in 2010, China has had an increasingly clearer view of the Earth. Launched in April 2013, Gaofen-1 can cover the globe in just four days. Gaofen-2, sent into space in 2014, is accurate to 0.8 meters in full color and can collect multispectral images of objects greater than 3.2 meters in length.
Gaofen-4, launched in late 2015, is China’s first geosynchronous orbit high-definition optical imaging satellite. Gaofen-3, launched in August 2016, is China’s first Synthetic Aperture Radar imaging satellite.
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