14 March 2018
Representatives from the space sector said that there was a "super plan" for China's space missions in the next couple of decades including Moon landings, a Mars probe and a space shuttle.
Yang Mengfei，the Academician of the China Academy of Space Technology told the reporter of Science and Technology Daily that China was planning to launch a Mars probe that would be able to orbit, land on and roam the red planet around 2020 and a second mission would have the probe bring back samples from Mars.
Apart from that, the academy has also initiated research on a new manned spacecraft that can serve multi purposes including sending people to the Moon.
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"You go on carrying out your mission ... We are brothers - one for the country, one for the family!"
11 March 2018
Chinese astronaut Yang Liwei revealed some of the hardships behind the country's space missions at an annual session of the top political advisory body on 10 March in Beijing. Yang, the nation's first astronaut and currently a top political advisor to the government, delivered a speech entitled "Achieving Dreams Relies on Struggle Without Fear of Sacrifice" on the afternoon of 10 March to Members of the 13th National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC).
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11 March 2018
Chinese researchers have completed the aerodynamic design of the country's Mars probe and are now conducting testing and experiments, reports Chinese language Science and Technology Daily. Set to launch in 2020, Chinese space authorities are working on technology to help complete the orbiting, landing and surveying. "The aerodynamic design is very important as it will protect the probe in its landing and prevent it from leaving the orbiting track," Zhou Weijiang, Member of the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC) and researcher with the China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation (CASC)
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10 March 2018
Chinese scientists are considering setting up smaller radio telescopes surrounding FAST to increase array resolution, authorities said. According to the FAST observation station with the National Astronomical Observatories, two to 10 radio telescopes measuring 30 meters in diameter may be set up around FAST, the world's largest single-dish radio telescope. The resolution of the array will be around 100 times greater than currently.
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11 March 2018
China will enhance strength in science and technology in the coming years to create more opportunities for itself and the world. "China will do more to implement the innovation-driven development strategy", Premier Li Keqiang said on 5 March when delivering a government work report at the first session of the 13th National People's Congress. Li said that application-oriented basic research would be strengthened, a number of science and technology innovation programs be launched, and a number of top national laboratories be set up this year.
"The BeiDou system not only belongs to China, but the whole world," Yang Changfeng Chief Designer of Beidou Navigation System said, noting that China has been promoting cooperation with Asia-Pacific nations, the Association of Southeast Asian Nations and the Arab League in the construction of BeiDou system. The system plays an important role in telecommunications, transport, forest fire prevention and disaster prevention and relief. "We've been improving our services for our global users," Yang said, adding that they are promoting the system in international organizations.
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07 March 2018
Highly respected space expert and space analyst Anatoly Zak writes in an article for Popular Mechanics, that Russia might get closer to China's space programme on the cost of its cooperation with the U.S. He writes: "Last month Russia’s space agency, Roscosmos State Corporation, began work on a contingency plan that would reshape its future in space exploration. The country could shift its human spaceflight cooperation from the U.S. to China, sources within Roscosmos told Popular Mechanics. One possible scenario includes Roscosmos exiting the International Space Station program early. Russian experts were instructed to put forward ideas by March 15, including concepts for potential contributions to the planned Chinese space station along with a joint Russian-Chinese plans to send humans to the Moon. If adopted, the new strategy would mark a historic moment for the Russian space program, which has cooperated with the U.S. for nearly three decades."
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