A March 7 Y3 long-range aviation rocket carrying the Tianzhou-2 cargo spacecraft exploded from the Wenchang Spacecraft Launch Site on May 29, 2021 in Wenchang, Hainan Province of China.
Yuan Chen | VCG | beautiful pictures
China plans to lay the groundwork for lofty space achievements including the discovery of the planet Jupiter and a crewed mission to the moon.
The move heats up another technology battle between the US and China with the positioning of the world’s second-largest economy to become a space superpower in the coming years.
Over the past few years, China has had some notable successes in the space sector:
With its achievements, Beijing wants to step up the game. The State Council – China’s top executive body – released a white paper last week outlining recent successes and goals for 2021-2025 as part of China’s five-year development plan. nation.
Here are some key parts of the plan that Beijing wants to implement:
- Upgrade the spaceship it uses and learn more about reusable rockets.
- Develop new satellites for functions such as monitoring atmospheric carbon and also conduct research for the next generation of Beidou.
- Launch your own space telescope called Xuntian and complete your own space station.
- Focusing on building new technologies such as automated management of spacecraft and how to clean up space debris, which has become a big problem. Space debris or space junk can be nuts, bolts, unused satellite or rocket parts that are floating around and can collide with other objects.
Moon, Mars and more
China says it will continue to research and plan crewed moon landings and develop new spacecraft for such missions. The plan also says China wants to work with other countries to build a research station on the moon.
But Beijing is looking beyond the surface of the Moon. Scientists want to complete research on how to take samples from Mars and study them. China also wants to lay the groundwork for the exploration of Jupiter. China said it last year plans to send a crew to Mars in 2033 and build a base there.
According to the State Council, the development of satellite technology not only helps to make businesses on Earth more digital, but also has economic benefits. It said this could also spur nascent businesses, including space tourism and biomedicine.
China says it will also continue its research into “space physics,” including the search for other habitable planets.
Beijing also plans to use the space station as well as Mars and lunar probes to conduct experiments and research in biology, life, medicine and materials.
Space Management
China and the US are caught in a technology war for dominance in everything from artificial intelligence to semiconductors, with their political differences spilling over into the space sector.
One example was the disagreement last year between the two nations over the so-called Artemis Agreement, a NASA-led agreement that aims to create rules around responsible and fair space exploration. China did not register while other countries such as Australia and the UK did.
Without mentioning the Artemis Agreement in the five-year plan, China said it would work with other countries in areas ranging from global governance to crewed spaceflight.
Under the United Nations framework, China will actively participate in the formulation of international rules related to outer space, and will work together with other countries to address challenges. in ensuring the long-term sustainability of space activities”.
China also said it would “conduct dialogue with Russia, the United States and other countries” on global space governance.
