25 September 2019
Chinese scientists have reconstructed the descent trajectory of the Chang'e 4 lunar probe and determined its precise landing site on the far side of the moon in a move that could bolster further deep space exploration. Using high-resolution topographic data obtained by the Chang'e 2 lunar probe and images taken by Chang'e 4 during its descent and exploration, researchers reconstructed the landing process including how it avoided obstacles autonomously.
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China's Most Detailed View Yet of Its Chang'e 4 Landing Site on the Far Side of the Moon
24 September 2019
The lander of the Chang'e 4 probe and the Yutu 2 rover have resumed work for the 10th lunar day on the far side of the Moon after "sleeping" during the 9th lunar night. The Chang'e 4 lander woke up at 20:26 BJT on 23 September, and the rover awoke one day earlier at 20:30 h on 22 September (Beijing Time). Both are in normal working condition, according to the Lunar Exploration and Space Programme Center of the China National Space Administration (CNSA). Yutu 2 rover has traversed so far about 285 m.
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23 September 2019
When discussing the rapid development of China’s private space sector and notably launch vehicles, many observers hint at a bubble: an unhealthy number of startups all pursuing the same scope of activities with similar technical solutions, and unsustainable growth not correlated with market demand. Is this justified? In this blogpost I offer some thoughts and engage in a comparison between Chinese and US NewSpace, discussing market size and Sino-foreign space “ecosystem decoupling”.
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Part 2 of 2
20 September 2019
Taiji 1 satellite, launched on 31 August, has conducted in-orbit experiments on the key technologies related to space-based gravitational wave detection, the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS) announced on 20 September. The satellite is China's first such kind of satellite, and has completed its first stage tests in orbit, laying a solid foundation for future gravitational wave observation in space, said Xiangli Bin, vice president of CAS. "This is the first step of China's space-based gravitational wave detection. But there is still a long way to go to realize detecting gravitational waves in space. Chinese scientists will continue to contribute Chinese wisdom to the exploration and human progress," Xiangli said.
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23 September 2019
China has successfully sent two satellites of BeiDou Navigation Satellite System (BDS) into space from the Xichang Satellite Launch Center in Sichuan Province at 05:10 h on 23 September. Launched on a Long March-3B carrier rocket, the two satellites entered the orbit. They are the 47th and 48th satellites of the BDS satellite family. The new satellites and the carrier rocket were developed by the China Academy of Space Technology and the China Academy of Launch Vehicle Technology, under the China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation.
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20 September 2019
Chinese researchers have successfully conducted an in situ measurement of lunar dust at the landing site of the country's Chang'e 3 probe. Using a temperature-controlled sticky quartz crystal microbalance onboard the Chang'e 3 lander, researchers from the Lanzhou Institute of Physics determined that the total deposition mass at a height of 190 cm above the lunar surface during 12 lunar daytimes in the northern Mare Imbrium was about 0.0065 mg/cm2.
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