China is on track to launch its first scientific satellite to orbit the Moon in 2007, according to the country鈥檚 official news agency Xinhua. The orbiter will pave the way for future lunar missions and is just part of China鈥檚 ambitious, if secretive, space programme.
Various designs for the spacecraft have been completed and one or two will begin development in September, the mission鈥檚 chief designer, Ye Peijian of the China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation, told a space technology conference in Beijing this week.
The mission, called Chang鈥檈-I after the Chinese Moon goddess Chang鈥檈, will map the Moon in 3D, helping to identify safe landing spots for future missions. It will study the Moon鈥檚 composition and radiation environment and may use radar to probe below its surface.
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Dean Cheng, senior Asia analyst at the non-profit think tank CNA Corporation in Alexandria, Virginia, US, says a 鈥渉uge part鈥� of this mission, and the Chinese space programme in general, is prestige. But it will also help the country develop technologically.
鈥淪ome of China鈥檚 satellite capabilities are not world-class,鈥� he says. 鈥淪o if you put something into lunar orbit that is going to operate long enough to give you a useful amount of data, it requires you to push the envelope to produce more efficient solar panels.鈥�
Robotic rover
After the lunar orbiter mission, some media reports suggest China will launch a lander to the surface of the Moon by 2010 and a robotic rover to return samples from the mission by 2020. But Cheng does not put much faith in those dates. He says China tends to operate its space programme according to five-year plans, and the next plan begins in 2006.
鈥淭he Chinese are generally reticent about putting out specific dates because it puts them in the position of potentially losing face鈥� if something goes wrong, he says.
In fact, China has not yet released the launch date or the names of the two astronauts expected to fly into Earth orbit this October. They may spend about five days in space on the Shenzhou 6 mission. That is a follow-up to 2003鈥檚 Shenzhou 5 flight, in which Yang Liwei spent about a day orbiting Earth and became the first Chinese astronaut, or 鈥渢aikonaut鈥�.
Bigger and better
And the dates could be off for yet another reason. 鈥淭he Chinese have consistently tried to make sure that their 鈥榝irst鈥� was bigger, better, and more capable than anybody else鈥檚,鈥� Cheng told 快猫短视频. 鈥淭he first Chinese satellite was larger and lasted longer than Sputnik; the first Chinese manned mission lasted longer than Gagarin鈥檚,鈥� he says, referring to history-making Russian feats. The Shenzhou spacecraft is much bigger than the Soyuz craft that ferries astronauts to the International Space Station.
He says China may make its future landers so powerful 鈥� and as a result, so large 鈥� that its existing Long March rockets cannot lift them into orbit. Developing a new, more powerful launcher would then push its Moon dates back further.
And there are other signs that China has big plans for space. The country has three launch sites, but recently has been considering building a fourth on , off the country鈥檚 southeast coast. And a 鈥渟paceflight kingdom鈥� 鈥� a central hub for space research and manufacturing facilities 鈥� is now being established in Shanghai.
In addition, China is broadening its pool of taikonauts. Last week the Chinese website People鈥檚 Daily reported that the country鈥檚 first female astronauts will be chosen from a group of 35 women who are currently studying to become pilots. And Cheng notes that the two taikonauts on the upcoming Shenzhou 6 mission were reportedly trained in a different group than Liwei. 鈥淭hat means there鈥檚 a large pool of potential astronauts out there,鈥� he says.
