25 May 2017
China's new space telescope to be launched soon will probe many mysteries of the universe, including the belching "big eaters" - active galactic nuclei at the most remote edges of the universe. The Hard X-ray Modulation Telescope (HXMT), developed by Chinese scientists, will observe some active galactic nuclei. "Black holes will be the focus of our observation since they are very interesting, and can generate various types of radiation, including X-rays and high energy cosmic rays, as well as strong jets," says Zhang Shuangnan, the lead scientist of HXMT and director of the Key Laboratory of Particle Astrophysics at the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS).
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24 May 2017
A declaration on BeiDou cooperation between China and Arab countries was signed 24 May, helping Arab countries benefit from China's BeiDou Navigation Satellite System (BDS). "The declaration will provide policy support for satellite navigation cooperation on both sides," said Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs Zhang Ming at the first forum on BDS cooperation between China and Arab countries. Zhang expressed his hope that with the aid of delegates a "space silk road" could soon be built to help China-Arab cooperation.
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25 May 2017
A data processing center for China's giant space telescope - the Aperture Spherical Radio Telescope (FAST) - is to be built near the telescope. China National Astronomical Observatories under the Chinese Academy of Sciences signed an agreement on 24 May with the government of Gui'an New District in southwest China's Guizhou Province on the data center project. The building is estimated to cost 160 million yuan (23 million U.S. dollars) and will be a comprehensive laboratory for storing and processing data from the world's largest radio telescope. The center will cover an area of four hectares.
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23 May 2017
A fund of 160 million yuan (23.3 million U.S. dollars) was set up on 23 May to help the [further] development of four space science satellites, as well as advanced scientific research. Jointly set up by the National Natural Science Foundation of China and Chinese Academy of Sciences, with each side sponsoring half of the investment, the fund will last from 2017 to 2020. The four satellites are the Dark Matter Particle Explorer Satellite, retrievable scientific research satellite SJ-10, a quantum communication satellite and a hard X-ray modulation telescope satellite.
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