Home-made satellite will start its first trip to the Mars next September, and the soft lander and moon rover will be launched during the second phase of China's moon exploration project. The news came on Nov. 1 as Wang Li, an official with China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation (CASC) announced right before the opening of The 7th China International Aviation & Aerospace Exhibition in Zhuhai, south China's Guangdong province.
The orbital and re-entry capsules of Shenzhou-7 spaceship, "Long March V" Rocket, H-6U, J-10 Fighter Jet and so on are on display on the exhibition. It is reported that Zhuhai Airshow is the largest aerospace and aviation exhibition in history.
Live demonstration of moon rover
The exhibition of CASC is always the focus of the air show. "I think the soft lander and moon rover will draw most of the attention. The second phase of China's moon exploration has been approved, and the soft lander and moon rover will be launched in 2013 as scheduled," said Wang.
"During the air show, we are going to show how the moon rover works, including how it raises antenna, unfolds solar wings, gets camera ready, moves forward and backwards, and releases lander from orbit … …"
Home-made satellite to take on the mission of Mars exploration in 2009
Besides soft lander and moon rover, the air show also touches upon China's Mars exploration. According to Wang, home-made satellite will take on the mission of Mars exploration in 2009.
One Chinese satellite will travel to the Mars by a Russian spacecraft next September. It will reach the high-altitude orbit on Mars conducting series of explorations such as the probe of space environment, solar winds as well as magnetic fields on the planet.
According to calculation and estimation, it takes the shortest time for satellite to reach the Mars if launched in next September. "But it will still take 11 months to get to the Mars, much longer than that of the moon exploration. The move signifies China has made a solid leap forward in Mars exploration," noted Wang.
"Long March V" to be launched in 2013
The low-earth orbit carrying capacity of China's most advanced carrier rocket is 9.5 tons, however, that of latest "Long March V" is expected to be 25 tons. The module of soon-to-be-launched rocket has already stood in the airshow, and the rocket will be launched in 2013.
"Long March V" is powered by hydrogen-oxygen engine, and the booster uses liquid oxygen/kerosene fuel, which is different from the fuel of other rockets and will not produce any toxic substances.
It is difficult to transfer the 5-meter diameter rocket to Xichang, Jiuquan or Taiyuan launch centers by ways of railway or road. It will be carried by a specially-designed ship to Wenchang launch centre in Hainan province through waterway.
If the test launch is successful, the "Long March V" will be used to launch 20-tonne class permanent space station, large space telescope, recoverable lunar probe, deep space probe, as well as super-heavy satellites.
By People's Daily Online
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