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China plans to launch its own "artificial moon" by 2020 to replace urban lighting and reduce the costs of electricity in cities, announced Friday the official press.
Chengdu a city in Sichuan Province (southwest) develops "brilliant satellites" that will illuminate next to the real moon, but will be eight times brighter, according to the China Daily The first artificial "moon" will be launched from the Xichhang Satellite Launch Center in Sichuan, he said Wu Chunfeng chief of the organization responsible for the project, the Tian Fu New Science Society of the region. If the first launch is a success, three more will be launched in 2022, he added.
"Civic and commercial potential"
The first launch will have an experimental character but the satellites launched in 2022 "will be real" And they will have "a great civic and commercial potential", explained Wu in an interview with the China Daily . Reflecting the sunlight, satellites can replace urban lighting in cities or agglomerations, saving an estimated 1.2 billion yuan a year (170 million USD) of electricity in the city of Chengdu when the moon The extraterrestrial light source can also contribute to relief operations in areas affected by disasters and power cuts. The agency AFP could not contact W or with the group Tian Fu to confirm this information. China is not the first country to attempt to capture sunlight. In the 90s, Russian scientists would have used giant mirrors to reflect the light of space, as part of a project entitled Znamya or Banner.
AFP
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