 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
China Will Soon Have Its Own Moon Globe
Beijing (XNA) Dec 05, 2007 China will make its own lunar globe soon, using pictures and data collected by its own moon orbiter, said an official in charge of the country's moon exploration mission on Tuesday. "I believe that China will soon come up with a full map of the moon," said Hu Hao, head of the lunar exploration center under the Commission of Science Technology and Industry of National Defense (COSTIND). "The map will help us make our own lunar globe and there may be more places on the moon that will be given names familiar to Chinese people," Hu said while addressing an online forum at www.gov.cn. The moon globe currently used in China is made with pictures and information sent back by probes from other countries. Most of the moon's places have borrowed titles from the Earth and some are named in memory of the early days of space exploration which was carried out by the Soviet Union and the United States. China published its first picture of the moon, captured by lunar orbiter Chang'e-1 on Nov. 26, marking the success of the country's first lunar probe project. The black-and-white image, covering the area of 54 to 70 degrees south latitude and 57 to 83 degrees east longitude on the moon, showed a grey and rough surface with scattered round craters both big and small. The CCD camera carried by Chang'e-1 will take a month to finish scanning the entire surface of the moon. "The first photo showed us the moon in its real color and people can base their imagination about the planet on the photo," Hu said. Luan Enjie, chief commander of China's lunar orbiter project, again reassured netizens about the authenticity of the picture. "It is from our lunar probing project," Luan said. "Some say the picture looks the same as the one taken by the United States, which I consider a compliment, since we have reached the U.S. level at the first attempt," Luan said. "Some say there are one or two nuances, which I think deserve future studies," Luan said. While talking about international space cooperation, Chen Qiufa, vice minister of the COSTIND, revealed that China is now discussing with Europe about exploring micro-gravity, moon orbiting and remote controlling fields as part of cooperation plans with the European Galileo Project. So far, China has signed cooperation agreements and memorandums of understanding with 13 countries, including Brazil, France, Russia and Ukraine, on space cooperation. "China's space industry, still at a developing stage, is in need of concerns and assistance from the international community," Chen said. "China will adhere to its principle of peaceful use of space and will never be involved in any kind of space race with any other country," Chen stressed. He also emphasized the Chinese government's persistent stance against an arms race in outer space. "China's lunar probing project has no military goals and there is no military equipment aboard Chang'e-1" he said.
Source: Xinhua News Agency Community Email This Article Comment On This Article Related Links Mars News and Information at MarsDaily.com Lunar Dreams and more
Data From Chinese Lunar Orbiter Available To All
Shanghai (XNA) Dec 04, 2007Scientists and astronomy enthusiasts all over the country all have access to data sent back from China's first lunar orbiter Chang'e-I, a leading scientist in the program said here Sunday. Ouyang Ziyuan, academician of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS) and chief scientist of the lunar exploration program, said at present the scientific instruments on board Chang'e-1 have all gone into operation and the satellite is sending back 3 trillion of data per second. The total data volume will reach 28 T (1 T is equivalent to 1,000 G) next year. |
|
|
| The content herein, unless otherwise known to be public domain, are Copyright Space.TV Corporation. AFP and UPI Wire Stories are copyright Agence France-Presse and United Press International. ESA Portal Reports are copyright European Space Agency. All NASA sourced material is public domain. Additional copyrights may apply in whole or part to other bona fide parties. Advertising does not imply endorsement, agreement or approval of any opinions, statements or information provided by Space.TV Corp on any Web page published or hosted by Space.TV Corp. Privacy Statement |
