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This image provided by NASA shows an illustration of NASA’s Perseverance rover landing safely on Mars. Photo: Xinhua
The Chinese National Space Administration (CNSA) and its US counterpart, NASA, held working meetings and communications from January to March 2021 on exchanging data to ensure the safety of Mars spacecraft flights, a CNSA confirmed to the Global Times on Wednesday.
The CNSA made the statement in response to requests from the Global Times following reports that NASA recently held discussions with CNSA in an effort to obtain information on the orbit of China’s Tianwen-1 probe. Mars, to reduce the risk of collision with a handful of other spacecraft currently in Martian orbit.
Could such a rare but not unprecedented space interaction between China and the United States signal a prelude to icebreaking? Chinese observers contacted by the Global Times on Wednesday said they were cautiously optimistic about the potential common ground between the two space powers, while admitting that there were many hurdles to overcome before Beijing and Washington could come together. meet halfway above planet Earth.
NASA Acting Administrator Steve Jurczyk revealed the discussions with China in a question-and-answer session after a March 23 speech at a meeting of the Commercial Space Transportation Advisory Committee of the Federal Aviation Administration, US magazine SpaceNews reported on Tuesday.
“More recently, we had an exchange with them about them providing their orbital data, their ephemeris data, for their mission in orbit around Mars Tianwen-1, so that we can do a conjunction analysis around Mars with the orbiters.” , said the head of NASA. in the report.
“To ensure the safety of our respective missions, NASA is coordinating with the United Arab Emirates, the European Space Agency, the Indian Space Research Organization and CNSA, all of which have spacecraft orbiting Mars, to exchange information on our respective missions to Mars in order to ensure the safety of our respective spacecraft, ”said NASA in a brief statement it provided to the US magazine.
Any exchange of information between NASA and CNSA or other Chinese organizations is restricted by what is commonly known as the “Wolf Amendment,” named after former Congressman Frank Wolf, who chaired it. Ten years ago the House appropriations subcommittee that funds NASA and first included the restrictions. . Similar provisions have been added to annual appropriation bills since then, including the Fiscal Year 2021 expenditure bill enacted in December.
However, proposals have been made in the United States to request that the restrictions be lifted, or at least that efforts be gradually made to that end.
“For starters, the United States should at least respond positively to China’s opening up. The first steps can be small, including data sharing and cooperation on climate initiatives. As confidence grows, more ambitious missions could be considered, possibly including China’s wish to be a part of America’s advanced Martian exploration program, ”an article said. Bloomberg opinion on March 25.
Chinese space experts stressed that the interactions between the two agencies are more of an exchange than technical cooperation. However, this would be a good start to a wider range of areas of cooperation, as the United States has contacted China despite restrictions in federal laws such as the Wolf Amendment, while China has consistently welcomed any space collaboration. possible with global players. , including the United States.
At the recent China-U.S. High-level meeting in Alaska on March 18, Yang Jiechi, member of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee and director of the Central Steering Group Office for Foreign Affairs, spoke said, “While the United States has spoken of its cooperation to land on another planet with the European side, China would welcome if there is a willingness to conduct similar cooperation of the United States with us,” according to the US Department of State website.
Earlier, when China and Russia signed the memorandum of understanding on the joint construction of an international lunar research station, the two sides said it would be “open to nations interested in the project as well as to all. the partners of the international community “.
NASA’s Mars Perseverance rover acquired this image on March 14, 2021 (Sol 23) using its integrated right-hand navigation camera (Navcam).
China’s 500-Meter Aperture Spherical Radio Telescope (FAST), the world’s largest single-aperture radio telescope, also known as China’s “Sky Eye”, will officially accept observation requests from scientists around the world at midnight on Wednesday. . The results will be announced on July 20 and sightings will officially begin in August.
“American scientists have already realized that for China and the United States, the two space pioneers with abundant economic and technological resources, sharing information would lead to more breakthroughs in a more efficient manner,” Wang Ya ‘nan, editor-in-chief of Beijing told the Global Times-based Aerospace Knowledge magazine on Wednesday.
Under the current legal framework, it is “entirely possible” for China and the United States to engage in more frequent exchanges of data on the movements of the spacecraft in order to ensure their safety, as it There are potential risks of collision if their respective flight paths are not clear to each other, Wang noted. “Another step forward would be sharing the results of scientific research, which the United States has already offered on several occasions during the Chang’e-4 and Chang’e -5 missions, to acquire lunar data from China. . But all these exchanges must be based on the principle that the United States treats cooperation with China on an equal and fair basis. “
Observers have hinted that China’s next space station, which is expected to be the most advanced in space, has also pressured the United States to seek interactions. As the current US space station is about to expire, he is looking for other partners who could invite him on board.
In addition, China’s space station and lunar research station, with the help of its Russian counterparts, have greater development potential as they would include more partners from developing countries, which have much greater needs. in the conduct, sharing and use of scientific results than the small circle. friends made up entirely of developed countries that the United States currently holds.
“China’s continued efforts to develop its own space powers and capabilities are the keys to changing the way the United States views us. When they realize that China could do better without outside help, they will seriously start to wonder if cooperation is in fact the right way to go. Wang said.
Analysts also said major hurdles remained due to the broad legal restrictions and political positions of the United States, manifested in NASA’s latest act listing the island of Taiwan as a “country” in an application form for the “Send your name to Mars” activity. on its website, which shows the US agency’s disrespect for China’s core interests of sovereign integrity.
“The biggest problem facing Sino-American space cooperation is that the United States has introduced politics into the scientific world and sees scientific competition as conflicts of values and ideologies. technologies, cooperation between the two sides still has a long way to go, ”Song Zhongping, an aerospace expert and television commentator, told the Global Times on Wednesday.
Chinese space analysts have also expressed growing concerns about how the United States is pushing its space program, citing the Artemis accords, which explicitly excluded China, as an example, and highlighting the outdated mindset of states. -United during the cold war.
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