21 August 2018
A ginger-root-shaped asteroid named Toutatis, which poses a potential threat to earth, might have formed from the merger of two smaller asteroids, say researchers from China and the United States. China's second lunar probe, Chang'e-2, rendezvoused with Toutatis on 13 December 2012, at a distance of 770 meters with a relative velocity of 10.73 km per second. It was the world's first close fly-by observation of Toutatis. The probe took high-resolution images providing a number of discoveries.
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21 August 2018
Beijing-based private space company LandSpace completed the final assembly of its solid propellant rocket on 20 August for a scheduled fourth-quarter launch, which will be the first Chinese private-sector commercial rocket to go into orbit. The proprietary three-stage solid propellant rocket by LandSpace, named Zhuque-1, is 19 meters tall with a 1.35-meter diameter and a takeoff mass of 27 metric tons and thrust of 45 tons. It will carry a small China Central Television satellite for space science and remote sensing for a state broadcaster, said the company.
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23 August 2018
A TV series loosely based on the "Two Bombs, One Satellite" project, China's nuclear and space program, recently began airing on Beijing Satellite TV and the video streaming site Tencent Video. The 43-episode series, The Glory and the Dream, directed by Han Xiaojun, is about a group of friends, who go from fresh college graduates to established engineers at a rocket research center in Southwest China.
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22 August 2018
Hong Kong Polytechnic University (PolyU) and China Academy of Space Technology (CAST) signed an agreement on 22 August to jointly develop a camera for China's first Mars probe. The two sides will develop and produce a camera on the mission’s spacecraft scheduled for launch in 2020, which will conduct orbital and surface exploration of the red planet. The "Mars Landing Surveillance Camera," to be located on the outside top surface of the Mars lander, will monitor the deployment status of the Mars rover with respect to the status of its solar panel, antenna, as well as movement.
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related:
Hong Kong Polytechnic University signs deal to make camera for China’s 2020 Mars probe
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