25 August 2019
The latest issue of GoTaikonauts!, issue no 25, has a report on a visit to the LandSpace manufacturing base in Huzhou, a retro perspective from the 2019 National Space Day Changsha last April and a comprehensive review of the process of the Announcement of Opportunity on the CSS from the start in May 2018 up to the selection announcement in June 2019 and also provides some observations along the way. An interview with UNOOSA Director Simonetta Di Pippo is giving insight into the versatile projects of the UN office and an outlook on the ambitions for the future. The newsletter is complemented by the Quarterly Report July - September 2018.
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23 August 2019
Namibia's President Hage Geingob hailed the Chinese astronauts' visit to share their aerospace experience and inspire the youth in the country. The two taikonauts, Liu Yang and Chen Dong, made a courtesy visit to the statehouse on 22 August, where the President welcomed them with open arms. According to Liu, it is China's aim to peacefully utilise outer space and make it benefit mankind. Liu Yang said: "Win-win cooperation and mutual benefit is the goal and in 2022 China will build our own space station which will be a platform for all the nations to use. We look forward to Namibia's participation and hope to fly together with Namibia to space." Meanwhile, Chen Dong said that China attaches great importance to their bilateral relations and hopes next time he hovers over Namibia with a local astronaut on-board. The visit was concluded with an invitation to the President to visit China and witness a launch of a manned space mission with two astronauts taking-off.
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25 August 2019
The lander and rover of the Chang'e 4 probe have resumed work for the ninth lunar day on the far side of the moon after "sleeping" during the extremely cold night. The lander woke up on 25 August at 8:10 h Beijing Time, and the rover, Yutu 2 (Jade Rabbit 2), awoke at 8:42 h BJT the same day, according to the Lunar Exploration and Space Program Center of the China National Space Administration. For the 9th lunar day, the lander's neutron radiation detector and low-frequency radio detector, as well as the rover's infrared imaging spectrometer and other instruments will be restarted to conduct scientific tasks including Moon surface observation and composition analysis.
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28 August 2019
China now has around 100 private space companies. They're creating reusable rockets, sending payloads into orbit and quickly catching up with SpaceX. In her article, Abigail Beall of Wired is reflecting on the status of China's space start-ups and is looking into the progress made by private space companies.
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