03 January 2020
03 January marks the one-year anniversary of the lunar landing of the Chang'e-4 probe. Both the lander and the rover of the Chang'e-4 probe have ended their work for the 13^th lunar day on 02 January (Beijing time), and switched to dormant mode for the lunar night. Due to the complicated geological environment and the rugged and heavily cratered terrain on the far side of the Moon, the rover drives slowly but steadily and is expected to continue traveling on the moon and make more scientific discoveries. Until the end of the 13th lunar day, Yutu-2 has driven 357.695 m. Zhang Lihua, Chief Designer of Queqiao, said the relay satellite has been working well and is able to continue its operation for another 10 years.
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03 January 2020
China's aerospace industry will see a busy year in 2020, with the number of space launches expected to exceed 40, according to the China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation (CASC). The highlights of the space activities include the launch of China's first Mars probe, the Chang'e-5 lunar probe, which is expected to bring moon samples back to Earth, the final step of China's current lunar exploration program, as well as the completion of the BeiDou Navigation Satellite System constellation. Three new types of carrier rockets including the Long March-5B, Long March-7A and Long March-8 will make their maiden flights in 2020, said the CASC.
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03 January 2020
Chinese space engineers have tested a micro propulsion technology on the Tianqin-1 satellite, which was launched on 20 December 2019. Micro propulsion technology which could be used in future space-based gravitational wave detection. Experts from the China Academy of Space Technology under the China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation said they tested the variable thrust propulsion at the micronewton level on the Tianqin-1 satellite. The accuracy of the micro propulsion system of the Tianqin-1 satellite could reach 0.1 micronewtons.
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03 January 2020
Beidou has had great applications in a string of areas including transportation, electrical power, fisheries, mining and agriculture, said Wang Yanyan, Deputy Secretary General of the Global Navigation Satellite System and Location-Based Services Association of China. Official data showed that the direct output of domestic satellite industries exceeded 300 billion RMB ($43 billion) by the end of 2019, with Beidou contributing 70 to 80 percent of the total. "In addition to the navigation function that is well-known to the public, Beidou's applications in areas like pipe leakage detection has also made substantial progress," Wang said. She noted that Beidou's technology in pipe network detection has already been applied in at least 600 cities, counties and towns across China. Beidou has recently cooperated with Swiss industrial giant ABB in launching the world's first gas leakage detection system with an accuracy as fine as ppb or parts per billion, overturning the traditional accuracy of parts per million seen worldwide.
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