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China's space ambitions are moving into a higher orbit.
After a successful trip that beats the world away from the moon, China is preparing to build a solar power station in space, while the world's second-largest economy is striving to perfect its assets as a superpower. With an annual budget of $ 8 billion for its space program, the second after the United States, China seeks to compete with its rival in terms of economic, military and technological domination.
Scientists have already begun construction of an experimental base in Chongqing, in western China. Initially, they plan to develop a smaller plant in the stratosphere between 2021 and 2025, a 1 megawatt solar plant in space by 2030 and, possibly, larger generators, according to the Science and Technology Daily.
This is what China has done in space:
Exploration of the moon
Space scientists in the country successfully landed a lunar probe on the back of the moon on Jan. 3, ending a series of missions and boosting China's ambitions. Landing in an unexplored area will allow Chang'e-4, the rover named after the mythical goddess of the moon, to better study the moon due to the lack of electromagnetic interference from the Earth. The vehicle is equipped with a low-frequency radio spectrometer to help scientists understand "how the first stars were lit and how our cosmos came out of the dark after the Big Bang," according to Lt.E. Chinese Xinhua news agency.
Green signals
Recalling the 2015 sci-fi movie "The Martian", starring Matt Damon, the Chinese lunar mission is also exploring whether the barren moon can sustain life. The images sent by Chang'e-4 last month show the first green leaf of cotton seed nine days after the beginning of the experiment, according to the University of Chongqing, the origin of the biological project. The mission's test load included cotton, canola, potatoes, yeasts and fruit flies.
More missions
China has more missions of this type in the pipeline. Four other versions of the Chang'e probe are under study, with at least two of them scheduled for a landing at the south pole of the moon, according to Wu Yanhua, vice administrator of the China National Space Administration. The agency will also study the possibility of creating a research base on the moon. A Mars probe is likely by the end of this decade.
Space station
China plans to build its own space station around 2022. Nicknamed Tiangong or Heavenly Palace, it will include a basic module and two other experimental modules, weighing altogether 66 tons and capable of carrying three people, with a cycle of life designed for at least 10 years. The facility would be used for scientific research in a dozen areas, including biology, physics and materials science.
Private rockets
President Xi Jinping has eased the government's monopoly on space launches, favoring the formation of small national companies dreaming of becoming a challenge, such as Elon Musk Space Exploration Technologies, Blue Origin by Jeff Bezos and Virgin Galactic by Richard Branson. Startups receive funds from venture capitalists and private investors based in China and can also rely on the expertise of rocket specialists from the Chinese space program.
GPS Challenger
Facing its rivalry with the United States, China spends at least $ 9 billion to build a navigation system and no longer depend on US GPS, whose satellite location data is used by smartphones, navigation systems automobile, the microchip of your computer. dog neck and guided missiles. And all these satellites are controlled by the US Air Force, which makes the Chinese government uncomfortable. Thus, he developed an alternative called the Beidou navigation system, which will eventually provide positioning accuracies of 1 meter (3 feet) or less with the use of a ground support system.
Space debris
Asian power develops sophisticated space capabilities such as "satellite inspection and repair" and the cleaning of in-orbit junks – "at least some of which could also work" as weapons against US satellites said the US Defense Intelligence Agency this month. The Chinese Foreign Ministry said the US allegations were "baseless".
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