China to the Moon - Chang'e 1 and 2, Chinese unmanned lunar orbiters |
China to the Moon - Chang'e 1 and 2, Chinese unmanned lunar orbiters |
Aug 24 2006, 05:03 PM
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Member Group: Members Posts: 124 Joined: 23-March 06 Member No.: 723 |
Lunar Programme To Be Open To World
Although China is still in the "initial stage" in tapping the moon and outer space when compared with the United States, Russia and Europe, the nation is catching up, Luan said. http://www.spacedaily.com/dragonspace.html The first phase of the Chang'e Project was solely accomplished by China through its own technology, products and designs, said Luan, former director of the China National Space Administration (CNSA). However, lunar scientists from Europe, the United States and Russia have expressed their willingness to co-operate with China in its research of the moon and deep space exploration, he said. Chinese scientists are assembling, integrating and testing to ensure that the mission of the nation's first lunar explorer, Chang'e-1, goes smoothly, a top space official said yesterday. http://english.people.com.cn/200607/26/eng...726_286707.html "Fundamental development has been achieved in all five related systems ranging from the satellite, the rocket, tracking and control, ground applications and the launch centre since it was approved two years ago," said Sun Laiyan, head of the China National Space Administration. The lunar orbiter is scheduled to blast off next year from the Xichang Satellite Launch Centre in Southwest China's Sichuan Province, Sun said at the ongoing eighth International Lunar Exploration Working Group (ILEWG) Conference in Beijing. The spacecraft will be 2350 kilograms in weight. According to the plan, the program will go through four phases. 1. Send a satellite to orbit the Moon 2. Conduct exploration on the surface of the moon through the soft landing of a detector. 3. Collect Moon surface samples using a robot, which will then return to the Earth. 4. Manned missions. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chang'e_program According to the schedule, detailed program design of the first step will be completed by September 2004. Research and development of a prototype probe and relevant testing of the probe will be finished before the end of 2005. Design, manufacture, general assembly, test and ground experiments of the lunar probe satellite will be finished before December 2006. In 2007 the Chang'e 1 will blast off. |
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Dec 3 2007, 03:05 PM
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Senior Member Group: Members Posts: 1075 Joined: 21-September 07 From: Québec, Canada Member No.: 3908 |
Here's an interesting piece of news from Xinhua (http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2007-12/02/content_7187500.htm)
Data from Chinese lunar orbiter available to all SHANGHAI, Dec. 2 (Xinhua) -- Scientists and astronomy enthusiasts all over the country all have access to data sent back from China's first lunar orbiter Chang'e-I, a leading scientist in the program said here Sunday. Ouyang Ziyuan, academician of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS) and chief scientist of the lunar exploration program, said at present the scientific instruments on board Chang'e-1 have all gone into operation and the satellite is sending back 3 trillion of data per second. The total data volume will reach 28 T (1 T is equivalent to 1,000 G) next year. "The money used for the Chang'e project comes from the taxpayers and, therefore, the data should also be made public. Any scientist or astronomy lover can apply to the state in accordance with certain procedures to obtain data he needs," Ouyang said. It seems that you need to be a Chinese citizen to have access to the data. The article doesn't mention what are the "certain procedures" to follow in order to obtain the data. Any Chinese UMSF member care to look into this? |
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