18 January 2019
Staff members of Institute of Optics and Electronics of the Chinese Academy of Sciences discuss the plan of testing the topographical camera installed on the lander of the Chang'e 4 probe in Chengdu, southwest China's Sichuan Province, on 17 January 2019. The topographical camera installed on the lander of the Chang'e 4 probe is responsible for both taking colorful high-resolution images on the lunar surface and monitoring the lunar rover Yutu 2.
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The latest issue of the GoTaikonauts! newsletter, the issue no 23 is published. The brochure contains the quarterly report of the first quarter of 2018 and an interview with Prof. Dr. Bernd Madauss who looks back at an intensive experience in space project management in China. Also, a short article explains the details of Civilian-Military Integration and an infographic summarises the milestones of CAST's Space Transportation System Road Map up to 2045.
For the longer read, Chen Lan is describing his impressions of traveling to the Jiuquan launch site to attend LandSpace’s orbital launch attempt on 27 October 2018. And last but not least, Donovan Cosby reports from China’s airshow event in Zhuhai. In a very entertaining account he reflects on his personal impressions of the event and gives advice on how to travel to Zhuhai Airshow.
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17 January 2019
On January 11, approved by China Meteorological Administration (CMA), FY-2E meteorological satellite (located over 86.5°E) was officially out of operation. During 9-year operation, FY-2E has realized two space shifts, formed network observation with FY-2D and FY-2G successively, and completed 104 thousand times of observations, which has made crucial contribution to meteorological observation in China and Asia as well.
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17 January 2019
Chinese and Russian scientists will work together to explore water and ice on the moon, according to a Russian scientist Vladimir Khmelyov, a professor at the Altai State Technical University. He said on 15 January that the ultrasonic drilling project has won financing from Russia's Fundamental Research Fund and China's National Natural Science Fund. In this project, the scientists will explore and develop the physical principles of the ultrasonic drilling of extraterrestrial surfaces to discover water and ice, including on the far side of the moon and on Mars, which will help develop lunar and Martian research in the future, Russia's Tass News Agency reported. "The project is designed for two years," said Khmelyov. "It relates to joint work: We will carry out preliminary research for the Chinese side to study the process of ultrasonic drilling."
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