The Moon is still strategic
24 May 2018
Decades after the Moon became covered in American flags and footprints, the nearest world in space is becoming strategic again. Recently, China launched a satellite to orbit the L2 Earth-Moon Lagrange point. This is not the first time China has launched something to the Moon, but it’s a harbinger of a space program that seeks to outstrip all international rivals in the decades ahead. Later this year, a Chinese robot lander will touch down on the far side of the Moon, becoming the first spacecraft in history to land there safely. It will deploy a small rover and conduct scientific experiments, including a small biological laboratory. The aforementioned satellite at L2 will serve as a communications relay to Earth, as there is no direct line of sight for radio transmissions from anywhere on Earth to reach the far side of the Moon. Becoming the first nation to land on the far side of the Moon is a grand achievement, but the best is yet to come.
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Microwave remote sensing to be applied in China's transport information
24 May 2018
A remote sensing laboratory was unveiled on Tuesday by China Transport Telecommunications and Information Center (CTTIC) and Airbus Defense and Space. The two sides will cooperate to provide more accurate transport information. Microwave remote sensing is not influenced by weather and visibility.
According to Li Yuanting, senior engineer at the CTTIC, InSAR can monitor the area of 1,500 square kilometers and record tiny changes in the shape of Earth's surface within the area.
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China's new space tech test a success
24 May 2018
China has successfully experimented with its space program's inflatable reentry and descent technology (IRDT), a technology that can allow China to land heavier spacecraft on celestial bodies with thin atmosphere, including the Moon and Mars. The experiment, the first of its kind in China, was conducted by China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation (CASC) and successfully validated working principles, working process and multiple key technologies.
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China to build high precision PNT system with BeiDou
25 May 2018
China is planning to finish building a high precision national comprehensive positioning, navigation, and timing (PNT) system on the basis of BeiDou system by 2035. With the completion of the system, China will obviously improve its ability in space and time information service, said Ran Chengqi, head of the office for management of BeiDou Navigation Satellite System, at the Ninth China Satellite Navigation Conference held from 23 to 25 May in Harbin, capital of northeast China's Heilongjiang Province.
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China develops high-accuracy marine positioning device
25 May 2018
Chinese researchers have developed a device to conduct marine positioning with high accuracy. The researchers from Harbin Engineering University monitored and collected data from 200 observation stations and independently developed the navigation positioning device to within one meter accuracy.
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