China Focus: China to explore space science more: white paper

China will carry out more space science exploration in the next five years, said a white paper on the country's space activities released Friday.

The white paper, titled "China's Space Program: A 2021 Perspective," was released by the State Council Information Office.

It says that China will continue with the research and development of programs such as the satellite for space gravitational wave detection, the Einstein probe satellite, and the advanced space-based solar observatory. It will focus on the subjects of the extreme universe, ripples in time and space, the panoramic view of the sun and Earth, and the search for habitable planets.

The white paper also says that China will continue to explore frontier areas and research into space astronomy, heliospheric physics, lunar and planetary science, space-Earth sciences, and space physics to generate more original scientific findings.

China will also use space experiment platforms such as the Tiangong space station, the Chang'e lunar probe series, and the Tianwen-1 Mars probe to conduct experiments and research on biology, life, medicine, and materials. It will enable China to expand humanity's understanding of basic science, noted the white paper.

Focusing on scientific questions such as the origin and evolution of the universe and the relationship between the solar system and humanity, China has launched multiple programs to explore space and conduct experiments, advanced research on basic theories, and incubated vital research findings.

The Dark Matter Particle Explorer (DAMPE) Satellite obtained the precise measurements of the energy spectrums of cosmic-ray electrons, protons, and the GCR helium. The Huiyan (Insight) Hard X-ray Modulation Telescope was successfully launched.

Led by its lunar exploration program, China has significantly advanced in the comprehensive surveying of the moon's geology and subsurface structure.

"By studying the shallow structure of the moon, Chinese researchers have gained new insights into the evolutionary history of the moon," said Liu Jizhong, director of the Lunar Exploration and Space Program Center of the China National Space Administration, at the press conference of the white paper.

The researchers have studied the lunar samples brought back by the Chang'e-5 mission and revealed that the moon is about 1 billion years younger than previously known, Liu said.

They dated the youngest rock on the moon at around 2 billion years in age, extending the "life" of lunar volcanism 800-900 million years longer than previously known.

In terms of the energy of matter, Chinese researchers have discovered new types of deep lunar material and delicate structures of cosmic ray energy spectra.

As for the space environment, they have gained a new understanding of the radiation dose of lunar particles and established new models of the interaction between solar winds and the moon, Liu added.

In planetary exploration, China has gained a deeper understanding of the geological evolution of Mars by analyzing its surface structure and soil and the composition of its rocks.

With the help of the Shenzhou spacecraft series, the Tiangong-2 space laboratory, and the Shijian-10 satellite, China has achieved mammalian embryonic development in space and in-orbit verification of the world's first space cold atom clock, expanded the understanding of the mechanisms behind particle segregation in microgravity, pulverized coal combustion, and material preparation, and achieved research findings in space science of international standing.

China also made achievements in space physics with the help of Mozi, the world's first quantum communication satellite.

Source: Xinhua News Agency

Related Links
China National Space Agency
The Chinese Space Program - News, Policy and Technology
China News from SinoDaily.com

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