03 May 2022
In a letter replying to a team of young professionals working on the Space Station construction at CASC, Chinese President Xi Jinping encouraged young people working in the space sector to be innovative so as to make breakthroughs and contribute more to China's realisation of greater self-reliance in aerospace science and technology. The replying letter was sent to the team on 2 May ahead of Youth Day in China on 4 May to commemorate the May Fourth Movement, which was held in 1919.
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05 May 2022
China on 5 May launched a CZ-2D rocket to place a group of 8 satellites into space. Satellite Jilin 1-Kuanfu 01C, together with 7 Jilin 1-Gaofen 03D satellites, was lifted at 10:38 BJT from the Taiyuan Satellite Launch Centre in the northern province of Shanxi and soon entered the preset orbit. With its wide coverage, Jilin 1-Kuanfu 01C can provide images with a width of more than 150 km, a panchromatic resolution of 0.5 m and a multi-spectral resolution of 2 m. The satellite also boasts super-large storage and high-speed data transmission. It will be used to provide commercial remote sensing data services for sectors such as land resource, mineral exploration and smart city construction.
Developed by Chang Guang Satellite Technology Co., Ltd., the 8 new satellites will work with 46 previously launched satellites of the Jilin 1 family to form a constellation, providing remote sensing data and services in fields like agriculture, forestry and environmental protection.
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06 May 2022
Researchers from Nanjing University analysed a CE-5 lunar soil sample, and found iron- and titanium-rich compounds, suitable for converting into oxygen, fuel and water by using solar energy and carbon dioxide. The authors "propose a potentially available extraterrestrial photosynthesis pathway on the moon, which will help us to achieve a “zero-energy consumption” extraterrestrial life support system."
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link to publication in Joule journal...

06 May 2022
China's flagship telescope, the optical Chinese Survey Space Telescope (CSST) "Xuntian" is getting prepared for launch at the end of 2023. CSST has a 2 m aperture and a 3-mirror anastigmat design that helps it achieve superior image quality within a large field of view. The CSST will be installed with five instruments including a Survey Camera. The main focal plane of the camera is equipped with 30 81-megapixel detectors that will take images and spectra of roughly 17,500 square degrees of the median-to-high galactic latitude and median-to-high ecliptic latitude sky in multiple bands, according to the researchers.
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