China Outer Space Science, Technology and Explorations: News & Updates

[Galactic Penguin SST]

Chinese Deep Space Exploration: Venus Orbiter and Lander, Mars Sampling Return, Asteroid Probe

https://defence.pk/pdf/threads/china-outer-space-science-technology-and-explorations-news-updates.464793/post-12820736

Tianwen-2 Mission

https://defence.pk/pdf/threads/china-outer-space-science-technology-and-explorations-news-updates.464793/post-12839973

Tianwen-4 Mission

预定发射时间	任务名称	任务目标	备注
2022年	嫦娥七号	月球南极综合探测任务
2024年	嫦娥六号	预定月球南极采样返回
2026年	嫦娥八号	验证月球科研基地构建	预定
2030年	新载人飞船	月球基地	待定
2026/2028年	天问三号	火星采样返回
2026年	天问二号	小行星2016HO3采样返回
2030年	天问四号	木星探测	预定
2024/2026年	天问五／六号	太阳系边际探测	设想
2028/2030年	天问七号	太阳系边际及邻近星际空间探测	设想

https://archive.vn/PYNNp/67668c532e30155bf688c47ca612f344c038853e.png ; https://archive.vn/PYNNp/458c828ab7457643e6f0cb8645929c52db6af723/scr.png ; http://web.archive.org/web/20201231042531if_/https://pbs.twimg.com/media/Ep1B82JUYAAdsgj?format=png&name=medium ; https://twitter.com/rhZhao/status/1341304012918820864
▲ 1. China's Jupiter system exploration mission.

Jupiter system exploration trajectory design: Summary of the winning solution at CTOC10

Published: 02 November 2020

Abstract

This paper presents the methods and results submitted by the winning team from Harbin Institute of Technology of the 10th China Trajectory Optimization Competition (CTOC10). The problem posed by CTOC10 requires exploring the Jupiter system using a combined spacecraft. The exploration mission consists of the detection of Jupiter’s magnetic field and an exploration of the Galilean moons. The mission is completed through three steps: problem analysis, orbital design process, and data processing. The orbital design process is mainly divided into four parts, namely, repeating ground-track orbit design, gravity-assisted orbit design, initial orbit parameter selection, and local optimization adjustment. The designed orbit is then evaluated using a heuristic optimization algorithm applied during the data processing. Finally, six full-coverage observations of Jupiter’s magnetic field are realized under the constraints of fuel and time. The final index of the submitted result is 357.8067.

http://web.archive.org/web/20210105011117/https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s42064-020-0079-4
https://archive.vn/PhYpN

https://archive.vn/kJ31k/6e8016c96939b040e472a2ca092d3d3e1754fc30.jpg ; https://archive.vn/kJ31k/0a59952690fd2f22357eb362d7843b49209de9fa/scr.png ; http://web.archive.org/web/20210105010856/https://pbs.twimg.com/media/Eq1uTuBXIAIYjMY?format=jpg&name=large
▲ 2. The exploration mission consists of the detection of Jupiter’s magnetic field and an exploration of the Galilean moons.

 

[bshifter]

@Beast see the time table above, the fastest mars sampling would be 2028 with this new schedule.

 

[JSCh]

China to open FAST telescope to international scientists
Jan 5, 2021
New China TV

China's FAST telescope, the world's largest single-dish radio telescope, will be available for global service from April 1.

 

[bshifter]

China to open FAST telescope to international scientists
Jan 5, 2021
New China TV

China's FAST telescope, the world's largest single-dish radio telescope, will be available for global service from April 1.

China lacks soft power? Not at all. After ISS is gone, Chinese Space Station will be the only one available welcoming other countries to board it. International collaboration on Space has always been China's policy.

 

[TaiShang]

1st LD-Writethru-China Focus: 400 mln km within 163 days, China's Mars probe heads for red planet

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E-mailXinhua, January 03, 2021
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BEIJING, Jan. 3 (Xinhua) -- China's Mars probe Tianwen-1 has traveled more than 400 million km by Sunday morning and is expected to enter Mars orbit next month, according to the China National Space Administration (CNSA).
As of 6 a.m. on Sunday (Beijing Time), the Mars probe had flown in space for 163 days. It was about 130 million km from Earth and about 8.3 million km from Mars.
According to the CNSA, the probe is functioning stably and is scheduled to slow down before entering Mars orbit in more than a month and preparing itself to land on the red planet.
Since its launch on July 23, 2020, the Mars probe has captured an image showing both Earth and the moon, as well as taking several selfies. It has carried out three orbital corrections, a deep-space maneuver and self-checks on multiple payloads.
Tianwen-1 probe, weighing about five tonnes, consists of an orbiter, a lander and a rover. It is designed to complete orbiting, landing and roving in one mission.
After entering the Mars orbit, it will spend two to three months surveying potential landing sites, using a high-resolution camera to prepare for the landing in May.
The most challenging part of the mission will be the soft landing, an autonomous process of the probe lasting seven to eight minutes. The probe will use its aerodynamic shape, parachute and retrorocket to decelerate and buffer legs to touch down.
After the landing, the rover will be released to conduct scientific exploration with an expected lifespan of at least 90 Martian days (about three months on Earth), and the orbiter, with a design life of one Martian year (about 687 days on Earth), will relay communications for the rover while conducting its own scientific detection.
Tianwen-1 means Questions to Heaven and comes from a poem written by Qu Yuan (about 340-278 BC), one of the greatest poets of ancient China. The name signifies the Chinese nation's perseverance in pursuing truth and science and exploring nature and the universe, according to the CNSA. Enditem

 

[JSCh]

Pools of water inside a gamma ray observatory’s central building detect particles from air showers.
INSTITUTE OF HIGH ENERGY PHYSICS/CHINESE ACADEMY OF SCIENCES

China’s ambitious telescopes rise in the thin air of the Tibetan Plateau
By Dennis Normile Apr. 25, 2019 , 2:00 PM

DAOCHENG COUNTY IN CHINA—"I've seen people faint here," warns physicist He Huihai as he deplanes at Daocheng Yading Airport, the world's highest at 4411 meters above sea level. Many of his colleagues at the Institute of High Energy Physics (IHEP) in Beijing take a day to acclimate before resuming work on the Large High Altitude Air Shower Observatory (LHAASO), an ambitious new observatory here on the eastern edge of the Tibetan Plateau.

Although troublesome for humans, the thin air is exactly what makes Tibet good for observing the staggeringly energetic photons that crash into Earth from unidentified objects across the universe. After 3 years of construction, LHAASO is nearly finished and begins observations on 26 April.

LHAASO is just the first in a batch of observatories taking shape across the Tibetan Plateau, which might one day rival the high, dry, Atacama Desert in Chile as a home for premier observatories. IHEP's Ali CMB Polarization Telescope (AliCPT), under construction in the plateau's west, will start its hunt for signs of primordial gravitational waves next year. This year, the National Space Science Center will begin to build the Daocheng Solar Radio Telescope (DSRT), which will study the sun's violent outbursts. And the National Astronomical Observatories of China (NAOC) in Beijing is studying sites on the northwestern rim of the plateau for a 12-meter Large Optical-Infrared Telescope (LOT), larger than any existing telescope.

Astronomers have long recognized the potential of the Tibetan Plateau, which has the highest average elevation of any region on Earth. In 1990, IHEP established a small cosmic ray observatory near Lhasa at 4300 meters. Since 2010, NAOC's Ali Observatory, at 5100 meters, has hosted several small telescopes. But the scientific building boom accelerated after the four new observatories won funding under China's latest Five-Year Plan, covering 2016 to 2020, as part of the nation's efforts to boost basic research. New roads and airports, built as part of China's controversial effort to tie Tibet more closely to the nation, are also encouraging astronomers to come.

Now, the country's biggest optical telescope is a 4-meter facility near Beijing that has not lived up to expectations. The LOT, in contrast, would be one of the most powerful telescopes on Earth. A dispute over its design has delayed progress, but once NAOC settles on a site it hopes to move forward, says NAOC Vice President Xue Suijian. Such an instrument would allow China's astronomers to join the hunt for exoplanets, study the evolution of galaxies, and watch for optical counterparts to gravitational waves, he says.


...

--> China’s ambitious telescopes rise in the thin air of the Tibetan Plateau | Science | AAAS

https://twitter.com/x/status/1346743312775053319

China Science @ChinaScience
China state-affiliated media

The 1st detector array of China's Large High Altitude Air Shower Observatory (LHAASO) in Sichuan began operation recently as its main component Water Cherenkov Detector Array (WCDA) completed construction. The detector array consists of 3120 units with self-developed tech.


5:00 PM · Jan 6, 2021

 

[bshifter]

https://twitter.com/x/status/1346743312775053319

China Science @ChinaScience
China state-affiliated media

The 1st detector array of China's Large High Altitude Air Shower Observatory (LHAASO) in Sichuan began operation recently as its main component Water Cherenkov Detector Array (WCDA) completed construction. The detector array consists of 3120 units with self-developed tech.


5:00 PM · Jan 6, 2021

It began operation in 2019

 

[JSCh]

It began operation in 2019

Yes, if you click the quoted content on the top of my post above, it contain a link to a Science magazine report that would give the details.

 

[JSCh]

China航天​

今天 10:16​

航天科技集团六院、长征五号系列运载火箭副总设计师王维彬介绍，这已经是这台发动机（YF77）经历的第4个500秒的试车验证，相当于正常飞行时间的4倍，大大提高了发动机的寿命余量。本次试车完了以后，要对参数进行分析和产品进行检查。如果一切正常还要第5次、第6次的试验，最终要是到试第8次​

China Aerospace
Today at 10:16

According to Wang Weibin, deputy chief designer of the Sixth Academy of China Aerospace Science and Technology Corp. and the Long March 5 series of carrier rockets, this is the fourth 500-second test run of this engine (YF77), which is equivalent to 4 times the normal flight time, which greatly improve the life margin of the engine. After this test run is over, the parameters must be analyzed and the product checked. If everything is normal, will proceed with 5th and 6th test, until finally the 8th test.

https://twitter.com/x/status/1347810337437978624

 

[JSCh]

China's space station core module, cargo craft pass factory review
Source: Xinhua| 2021-01-14 20:59:00|Editor: huaxia

BEIJING, Jan. 14 (Xinhua) -- The core module of China's planned space station has passed a factory review, along with the project's Tianzhou-2 cargo craft and the core module mission products of the space application systems, the China Manned Space Engineering Office (CMSEO) said Thursday.

The completion of the factory review, conducted by experts at China's manned space program, means the construction project of the country's space station will now enter the implementation phase, the CMSEO statement said.

China is scheduled to complete the in-orbit construction of the space station around 2022, after carrying out 11 flight missions this year and next, including three launches of different modules, four launches of cargo craft and four launches of manned craft.

The core module, named Tianhe (harmony of the heavens), is scheduled for launch this spring.

 

[JSCh]

China航天 ​

1月14日 19:14​

【航天科工卫星智能生产线在汉试运行 年产240颗以上小卫星】航天科工二院空间工程公司近日完成我国首条批产卫星智能生产线的研制、生产及安装工作，生产线已转入现场试运行阶段，可实现年产240颗以上小卫星的设计产能目标。
“卫星从原材料出库到整星检验合格入库，需经历舱板级部装、卫星总装、整星电性能测试、通信载荷测试等十余道工序，如果关键工艺环节全部由机器来替代，生产效率可以提高40%以上。”机械总体设计岗设计师刘峰说，从单件小批量手工生产到高度自动化生产，生产线实现了卫星生产从制造到“智造”的蜕变O网页链接​

China Aerospace
January 14 19:14

[China Aerospace Science and Industry Corp. (CASIC) Intelligent Satellite Production Line is in trial-run in Wuhan, producing more than 240 small satellites per year]

The Space Engineering Company of the Second Academy of CASIC recently completed the development, production and installation of China first batch-produced intelligent satellite production line. The production line has enter the on-site trial operation stage, which could achieve the design capacity goal of producing more than 240 small satellites per year.

"Satellites need to go through more than ten processes from the raw material delivery to the entire satellite inspection and storage, including deck-level assembly, satellite assembly, entire satellite electrical performance testing, and communication load testing. If all the key process links are replaced by machines, production efficiency can be increased by more than 40%." Liu Feng, the overall design designer of machinery, said that from small batch manual production to highly automated production, the production line has realized the transformation of satellite production from manufacturing to "intelligent manufacturing".

 

[JSCh]

China launches two satellites for gravitational wave detection
Source: Xinhua| 2020-12-10 06:27:50|Editor: huaxia

XICHANG, Dec. 10 (Xinhua) -- China sent two satellites for the detection of gravitational waves into planned orbit from the Xichang Satellite Launch Center in Sichuan Province on Thursday morning.

The two satellites, which compose the Gravitational Wave High-energy Electromagnetic Counterpart All-sky Monitor (GECAM) mission, were launched by a Long March-11 carrier rocket at 4:14 a.m. (Beijing Time), according to the center.

Thursday's launch was the 355th mission of the Long March rocket series.

The GECAM satellites will be used to monitor high-energy celestial phenomena such as gravitational wave gamma-ray bursts, high-energy radiation of fast radio bursts, special gamma-ray bursts and magnetar bursts, and to study neutron stars, black holes and other compact objects and their merger processes.

In addition, they will also detect high-energy radiation phenomena in space, such as solar flares, Earth gamma flashes and Earth electron beams, providing observation data for scientists.

The GECAM project is carried out by the Chinese Academy of Sciences. The Long March-11 rocket is developed by the China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation.

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中科院高能所​

今天 09:47 来自 微博 weibo.com​

【GECAM卫星团队发布其首个天体爆发事件探测结果】北京时间2021年1月20日凌晨，引力波暴高能电磁对应体全天监测器（“怀柔一号”极目望远镜，简称GECAM）卫星团队首次在国际伽马暴协调网络（Gamma-ray Burst Coordinates Network，简称GCN）发布了天体爆发事件GRB 210119A的观测通告（GCN circular编号29331，详见O网页链接），标志着GECAM卫星开始向国际天文界提供及时的观测结果，为“多波段、多信使”天文时代爆发天体的联合观测研究贡献力量。​

​

　　该爆发事件发生于世界时（Coordinate Universal Time）2021年1月19日02时54分09.85秒，即北京时间2021年1月19日上午10时54分09.85秒。尽管GECAM卫星尚处于在轨测试阶段，但在GECAM卫星西安和北京试验队的密切协同下，卫星及时下传了观测数据，数据分析团队随即开展了快速分析工作。​

​

GECAM卫星是中科院空间先导二期的首发科学卫星，于2020年12月10日凌晨4时14分37秒（北京时间）于西昌卫星发射中心用长征11号固体运载火箭以“一箭双星”的方式发射入轨。GECAM卫星被命名为“怀柔一号”，是北京怀柔综合性国家科学中心空间科学实验室挂牌后的首个科学卫星。卫星入轨后，有效载荷状态良好，各项功能都得到有效验证，已成功观测到伽马射线暴、天蝎座X-1的地球掩食、X射线脉冲星、太阳耀斑以及高能宇宙线事例等现象，预计后续将有丰富的科学产出。​

Institute of High Energy Phisics, Chinese Academy of Sciences
Today at 09:47 from Weibo

[GECAM satellite team releases its first celestial event detection results]

In the early morning of January 20, 2021, Beijing time, the Gravitational Wave High-energy Electromagnetic Counterpart All-sky Monitor (GECAM, also called "Huairou No. 1" Polar Eye Telescope) satellite team for the first time issued observation notice of celestial outburst event GRB 210119A (GCN circular number 29331, see O web link for details) on the International Gamma-ray Burst Coordinates Network (GCN). That marks the beginning of GECAM satellites submission of timely observations to the international astronomy community, and contribute to the joint observation and research of celestial bodies outburst in the "multi-band, multi-messenger" astronomical era.

　　 The outbreak occurred at 02:54:09.85 on January 19, 2021 in Coordinate Universal Time, which is 10:54:09.85 on January 19, 2021, Beijing time. Although the GECAM satellite is still in the orbit test stage, but with the close coordination between the GECAM satellite Xi'an and Beijing test team, the satellite sent the observation data in time, and the data analysis team is able to immediately carried out rapid analysis.

The GECAM satellite is the first scientific satellite of the Space Pilot Phase II program of the Chinese Academy of Sciences. It was launched at the Xichang Satellite Launch Center at 4:14:37 (Beijing time) on December 10, 2020, using the Long March 11 solid carrier rocket "two satellites on one rocket" way to launch into orbit. The GECAM satellite was named "Huairou No. 1" and was the first scientific satellite after the establishment of the Space Science Laboratory of the Beijing Huairou Comprehensive National Science Center. After the satellite is in orbit, the payload is found to be in good condition, and all designed functions have been effectively verified. Gamma-ray bursts, the eclipse of Scorpio X-1, X-ray pulsars, solar flares and high-energy cosmic rays have all been successfully observed. It is optimistic that abundant scientific output will be produced in the future.

 

[JSCh]

https://www.facebook.com/101821521427384/posts/234183158191219

 

[JSCh]

The 11th institutes (Beijing) of the Sixth Academy of CASC, which is one of the institute responsible for rocket propulsion is touting what they have done in the 13th five year plan (2016-2020).

China航天 ​

25分钟前 已编辑​

十三五期间，航天科技六院11所（京）以创新为引领发展的第一动力，通过内外部渠道加大研发投入，顺利完成重型运载火箭两型氢氧发动机关深阶段攻关，在分级燃烧控制等一系列关键技术研究方面取得长足进步。连续成功开展可重复使用60吨级液氧甲烷发动机13次整机热试验，有效突破组合循环、复合预冷、核热推进等新型动力项目关键技术。(航天科技六院)​

China Aerospace
Edited 25 minutes ago

During the 13th Five-Year Plan, the 11th institutes (Beijing) of the Sixth Academy of China aerospace science and technology corp. (CASC), taking innovation as the first driving force for progress, had increase R&D investment through internal and external channels, successfully tackling key problems for deep stage research of two-type of hydrolox engine for heavy rocket, including significant progress in the research of a series of key technologies such as staged combustion control. Also, successively carried out 13 whole engine hot tests of a reusable 60-ton metholox engine, and effective progress in key technologies for new propulsion projects such as combined cycle, hybrid pre-cooling, and nuclear thermal propulsion. (Sixth Academy of CASC)

 

[Galactic Penguin SST]

Chang'e 5 Lunar Probe Extended As Solar Probe

January 21, 2021

The orbiter that successfully brought Chang’e 5’s lunar samples back to Earth is continuing on an extended mission toward areas of the solar system that China has yet to visit.

The orbiter dropped off the mission’s return capsule for a skip-reentry on December 17th, ending an intense 23-day expedition to obtain the youngest lunar samples so far collected. But the orbiter wasn’t done. Thanks to its insertion into a precise lunar orbit trajectory, the orbiter had plenty of remaining propellant. Following its capsule release, it performed a maneuver to avoid Earth and head for new deep-space territory.

An update from the China Lunar Exploration Program (CLEP) on January 19th states that the spacecraft is now 1.43 million kilometers (889,000 miles) from Earth and will arrive at the L1 Sun-Earth Lagrange point in mid-March. Once at L1 between Earth and the Sun, the probe will test the design and control of the orbit, take readings of the radiation environment, and make observations of the Sun.

This gravitationally stable orbit offers a prime vantage point for solar observations. The 25-year-old Solar and Heliospheric Observatory (SOHO) still operates there, as does NASA’s Deep Space Climate Observatory (DSCOVR).

What will follow remains a mystery, however. Sheng Ruiquin, deputy director of the Chang’e 5 design team, said that his team will “evaluate the next phase of the mission based on the orbiter's status at L1.”

Sheng says that the spacecraft should have more than 100 kilograms of propellant remaining. Wile vague, this puts some constraints on what is possible.

Spaceflight observer Jonathan McDowell (Center for Astrophysics, Harvard & Smithsonian) says this could tentatively rule out the capability for a change in velocity, for example to fly toward Venus. It also makes a flyby of a near-Earth asteroid unlikely, though such a flyby would help the ZhengHe mission, due to launch in 2024, as it prepares to sample the former minimoon 469219 Kamoʻoalewa, initially dubbed 2016 HO3.

However, one option that might still be in the cards is a visit to the Sun-Earth L4 or L5 Lagrange points. These more stable regions, 60° ahead and behind Earth in its orbit, are theorized to hold co-orbiting “Trojan” objects. Chang’e 5 could use its imagers to check one of these Lagrange points for the presence of Earth Trojans. So far, one object, 2010 TK7, has been confirmed to be oscillating around L4.

China has a history of extending its lunar missions. Chang’e 2, China’s second lunar orbiter launched in 2010, departed for the Earth–Sun L2 Lagrange point after completing its primary mission. It then used its remaining propellant for a flyby of near-Earth asteroid Toutatis in December 2012.

Chang’e 2 continued into deep space before contact was lost in 2014, according to Xinhua (Chinese). The Chang’e 5 orbiter is thought to carry more capable communications arrays than its predecessor.

China also repurposed the service module of the Chang’e 5 T1 mission, a test mission that launched in 2014 to test the high-velocity lunar return and skip-reentry required for the later sample return. The module traveled to Earth-Moon L2, on the other side of Earth from the Sun. That turned out to be a trial run for a relay satellite that facilitated Chang’e 4’s unprecedented landing on the lunar far side.

The Chang’e 5 extended mission marks a first excursion inside Earth’s orbit. Elsewhere, China’s first independent interplanetary mission, Tianwen 1, is due to enter Mars orbit on February 10th. A rover landing attempt is expected to follow in May.

http://web.archive.org/web/20210122171816/https://skyandtelescope.org/astronomy-news/chinas-change-5-probe-heads-sunward/
https://archive.is/gcmoA#selection-122.5-132.0