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On Wednesday, a man wearing a face mask visits an exhibit depicting a spacecraft and rovers on Mars at a shopping mall in Beijing. China’s first Mars exploration probe, Tianwen-1, entered Mars’ parking orbit on Wednesday after flying through space for 215 days. Photo: AP
China plans to conduct more than 40 space launches in 2021, with building the country’s first space station its top priority, top domestic rocket contractor China Aerospace Science and Technology Corp (CASC) said on Wednesday.
In the 2020 Blue Book of China Aerospace Science and Technology Activities released at a press conference on Wednesday, the CCAC said parts of the space station, including the main cabinet Tianhe, the Tianzhou-2 and -3 cargo spacecraft, and the Shenzhou-12 and -13 manned spacecraft , will be sent to space in 2021..
Seven more commercial launches are planned, which will be open to market users who want to send micro-sized and small-sized satellites into space, the Blue Book said.
China carried out 39 launches in 2020, sending 89 spacecraft into space and breaking the record for total weight of 103.06 tons, an increase of 29.3 percent from the previous year.
China’s number of space launches and payload weight in 2020 both ranked second in the world after the United States, marking major advances in Chinese space exploration, according to the Blue Book.
To complement the aerospace developments of the year, China has made remarkable achievements in a number of advanced technologies and major breakthroughs in space missions, he said.
China’s latest state-of-the-art aircraft carrier rocket, the Long March-5B, made a successful maiden flight in May, sending the assembly of a test version of the next-generation manned spacecraft with a Cargo return test spacecraft on planned orbit. .
The test run opened the official chapter in building the Chinese space station, which “lays a solid foundation for a future manned moon landing,” the Blue Book said.
During the experimental flight, China conducted a series of space experiments such as its first 3D printing attempt in orbit, which aimed to study the feasibility of “self-made” manufacturing in space to solve the problem. long supply lines during exploration missions. .
Even more exciting for space fans around the world, China embarked on trips to the Moon and Mars in 2020, suggesting China’s growing confidence in the field after years of unremitting efforts.
The country’s first Mars exploration project, Tianwen-1, which has a triple mission of orbit, landing and wandering in a single flight, embarked on a journey to the Red Planet on July 23, 2020.
After flying in space for 215 days, which took it approximately 212 million kilometers from Earth, it successfully entered Martian orbit on Wednesday and will remain there for another three months, with all payloads being lit for scientific studies, before finally landing, China. The National Space Administration said in a statement sent to the Global Times.
China’s first lunar sample recovery mission, Chang’e-5, concluded its journey on December 17, 2020 after a 23-day adventure in the nearby celestial body, bringing with it 1731 grams of lunar soil and making China the third country. for successfully bringing lunar samples back to Earth after the United States and the former Soviet Union.
As one of the most complex and difficult tasks in the country’s aerospace history, Chang’e-5 achieved several firsts, including the very first lift off from the lunar surface and the first rendezvous and mooring in lunar orbit.
As impressive as the achievements are, Chinese space analysts note that there are still technological gaps in the field compared to the United States. Song Zhongping, aerospace expert and television commentator, told the Global Times on Wednesday that the United States is still the main force in the race for global space exploration.
“From the 1960s, the United States got ahead. With a relatively strong scientific base that laid the foundation for aerospace development, the United States has formed a more mature and balanced fashion, with NASA leading national space programs and Elon Musk spearheading driving in commercial zones. of the aerospace industry. “
However, he noted that China has developed its own path, different from that of the United States. “We drew the plan for future space missions as a whole, then we divided it into several parts, which will be carried out step by step on a regular basis.
Song illustrated this idea using the examples of China’s BeiDou satellite navigation system, deep space exploration and manned missions.
Despite the devastating pandemic that hit the world last year, China has not only kept its head high and made steady progress in its own space missions, but has also engaged in multiple space cooperation projects with countries like Argentina, Ethiopia, Egypt and other countries along the Belt Roads and Highway.
Different types of cooperation have been involved, such as satellite exports, cooperative research and development, satellite launches and application services.
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