[ad_1]
China is set to make several space breakthroughs. First, in December, it will launch the first-ever spacecraft to land on another part of the moon that has not been visited in the past by astronauts. In 2019, it has prepared another craft that will take off to the moon as well as to bring back lunar rocks to Earth. This has not been done since 1976.
These two breakthrough space missions are part of the nation’s lunar exploration series is named after the Chinese moon Goddess Chang-e.
Specifically, Chang’e-4 has set its sights on exploring the moon’s largest, deepest and possibly oldest known feature created by an impact, the South Pole-Aitken basin, on the lunar farside. This side is the one facing away from Earth.
These missions are also part of the world’s renewed interest to explore the moon, the nearest celestial body. Apart from China, India, Israel, Germany, and the United States have their own missions planned. India’s space agency and then some private companies located in Israel and Germany are all planning to launch their respective robotic lunar missions by 2019.
On the other hand, the United States is preparing for astronauts to orbit the moon starting in 2013. It also plans of landing astronauts on the lunar surface by the late 2020s.
If China’s missions to the other parts of the moon will be successful, additional rock types can be discovered and sampled. According to David Blewett of John Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory, the Chang’e-5 sample return mission can no doubt lead to these amazing discoveries. Currently, scientists have only sampled rocks from certain parts of the moon, and there are more areas to get samples from. “If you came to the Earth and landed in Great Britain and made all your conclusions about the Earth from what you saw … you really wouldn’t have the whole picture,” Blewett explained.
In earlier news, it was also reported that China is planning to launch an artificial moon by 2020. The country designed this project to replace streetlamps and resolve the problem of high electricity costs in urban areas. The project, set on Chengdu, involves the development of illumination satellites, which can shine in tandem with the actual moon but be eight more times brighter. If designed well, the nation might launch the first human-made moon from Xichang Satellite Launch Center in Sichuan. Three more will be made in 2022 if this first one is successful.
Source link
