China to launch 1st moon orbiter in late October

www.chinaview.cn 2007-10-16 20:29:57 Print

Special Report: 17th CPC National Congress

BEIJING, Oct. 16 (Xinhua) --

A senior Chinese official said here Tuesday that researchers and technicians are making final preparations for the launch of the country's first moon orbiter, Chang'e I, at the end of October.

Zhang Qingwei, minister in charge of the Commission of Science, Technology and Industry for National Defense (COSTIND), who is attending the 17th National Congress of the Communist Party of China (CPC), said in an interview with Xinhua.

Zhang said his team has nearly finished pre-launch tests on the rocket and orbiter, which have been transported to the launch site.

Advanced cameras and X-ray spectrometers have been installed in the orbiter for mapping three-dimensional images of the lunar surface, analyzing dust on the moon, and studying the space environment between the Earth and the moon.

"The appropriate time for the launch is in April and October. We finally choose October with the consideration of weather and celestial conditions," he said.

"China's moon exploration project is for peaceful use of space," Zhang said. "We're now equipped with high technologies in doing our own research."

The next step in the ambitious mission is to launch a moon vehicle, and then get it back, Zhang said.

Sending the first astronaut into space with the Chinese-made spaceship Shenzhou V in 2003, China became the third country, next to the Soviet Union and the United States, to carry out manned space mission.

The Chinese government has included the moon adventure in 16 key state science projects by the year 2020.

China hopes to join Int'l Space Station project

www.chinaview.cn 2007-10-16 18:08:21 Print

Special Report: 17th CPC National Congress

BEIJING, Oct. 16 (Xinhua) --

China hopes to become the 17th nation joining the International Space Station (ISS) project, Vice Minister of Science and Technology Li Xueyong said on Tuesday.

"China sincerely wants to cooperate with the United States in space exploration and join the International Space Station project that has already involved 16 nations," said Li, a delegate to the 17th National Congress of the Communist Party of China (CPC), on the sidelines of the event.

The Chinese government has been pursuing a policy of peaceful use of airspace, Li said.

The International Space Station is a joint project of 16 nations including the United States, Russia, Japan, Canada, Brazil and 11 countries from the European Space Agency.

The station's first segment, the Zarya control module, was brought to orbit by a Russian Proton rocket in November 1998 to provide the infant station's battery power and fuel storage.

The station is located in orbit around the Earth at an altitude of approximately 360 kilometers, a type of orbit usually termed as low Earth orbit.

Due to the ISS, there is a permanent human presence in space, as there have always been at least two people on board the station since the first crew entered it on Nov. 2, 2000.

China will soon launch its first circumlunar satellite as part of its ambitious moon exploration program enters the stage of implementation. Development of the satellite, called Chang'e I after the legendary Chinese goddess Chang'e who flew to the moon, and the carrier Long March 3A has been completed after numerous tests.

Chinese space expert: Int'l cooperation to be trend in space exploration

www.chinaview.cn 2007-09-28 20:42:01

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by Lu Chunhua

NEW DELHI, Sept. 28 (Xinhua) --

International cooperation will be a trend in space exploration in the future, said Zhou Jianping, chief designer of China's manned space engineering project who is here attending an meeting on space science.

In an exclusive interview with Xinhua recently, Zhou said the ambitious missions to the moon and mars have become a hot spot in space exploration, which is not only the endless pursuit of the human being, but also the motivation of the scientific development.

In Indian southern city of Hyderabad, the 58th International Astronautical Congress (IAC 2007) is being held from Monday to Friday.

Talking about the international cooperation, Zhou said a lot of countries have expressed willingness to cooperate with China in the fields of space exploration. He added that some countries has cooperated with China in some areas with small scale.

As a delegation head of China's manned space engineering project, Zhou participated in the IAC 2007. At the sideline of this congress, Zhou's delegation talked with the European Space Agency (ESA).

Zhou said that China will implement more space flights in the future, which will provide more opportunities of cooperation with the ESA.

Meanwhile, Zhou's delegation also discussed the possibility of cooperation with Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO).

India got impressive achievements in the fields of space exploration, said Zhou, adding that, as two largest developing countries in the world which have got a large stride in space exploration, China and India will have tremendous cooperation chances in the future.

Editor: An Lu

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