New Moon: China will launch lunar lighting in the space

BEIJING: China plans to launch its own "artificial moon" by 2020 to replace streetlights and reduce electricity costs in urban areas, official media reported on Friday.

Chengdu, a city in southwestern Sichuan Province, develops "lighting satellites" that shine in tandem with the real moon, but are eight times brighter, according to China Daily .

The first artificial moon will be launched from the Xichang Satellite Launch Center in Sichuan, and three more will follow in 2022 if the first test goes well, said Wu Chunfeng, head of Tian's new regional science company Fu, project manager. the project.

Although the first launch is experimental, the 2022 satellites "will be the real deal with great civic and commercial potential," he said in an interview with China Daily.

By reflecting sunlight, satellites could replace streetlights in urban areas, saving about 1.2 billion yuan ($ 170 million) a year in electricity costs for Chengdu , if the artificial moons illuminate an area of ​​50 square kilometers. .

The extraterrestrial light source could also contribute to relief efforts in disaster areas during power outages, he added.

AFP was unable to contact Wu or the Tian Fu New Science Society to confirm this information.

While the Chinese space program is getting closer to that of the United States and Russia, a number of ambitious projects are in preparation, including the lunar probe Chang & # 39; e-4, named after the goddess of the moon in Chinese mythology, – which aims to launch later this year. If he succeeds, it will be the first rover to explore the "dark side" of the moon.

China is not the first country to want to send sunlight back to Earth. In the 1990s, Russian scientists would have used giant mirrors to reflect the light of space as part of an experimental project called Znamya or Banner.

The Chengdu artificial moon project was announced by Wu at a conference on innovation and entrepreneurship in Chengdu on October 10.

In addition to the new regional scientific company Tian Fu, other universities and institutes, including the Harbin Institute of Technology and China Aerospace Science and Industry Corp, participate in the development of lighting satellites of Chengdu.