From building its own space station, to capturing an asteroid and putting it in orbit around the Moon, China’s space programme is often depicted as ludicrous and unfeasible. But it would be foolish to overlook its potential.
China is quickly becoming one of the most ambitious and pioneering nations when it comes to exploring space. "Our overall goal is that, by around 2030, China will be among the major space powers of the world," Wu Yanhua, deputy chief of the National Space Administration, said in January. So what are its plans?
One of China’s nearest goals is the plan to land a rover on the dark side of the Moon in 2018. China’s Chang’e 4 mission is the next in line after Chang’e 3, which saw the popular Jade Rabbit lunar rover named after the Chinese Moon goddess. The plan is to study the geology of the Moon’s far side.
As the Moon orbits Earth, it is tidally locked, meaning the same side always faces us. The far side of the Moon is not always dark, it is illuminated when the side facing the Earth is in darkness; it is just called the dark side of the Moon because we never see it. Landing there would be a significant first.
“China has developed advanced space capabilities and has already landed on the side of the Moon that always faces the Earth,” says John Logsdon, a professor emeritus at George Washington University and founder of its Space Policy Institute. “Landing on the far side is trickier because of communication problems, but seems very feasible.”
China made headlines earlier this year when its plans to capture an asteroid were revealed, and somewhat mocked. The idea of taking an asteroid and putting it in orbit around the Moon was reported by state media, but a detailed description of those specific plans is yet to be published. However, a new study has revealed what China does plan to do in terms of asteroid chasing.
China’s latest proposal involves studying a chaotic asteroid. A pair of Chinese researchers has published a paper in Advances in Space Research, outlining a plan to send a spacecraft to the asteroid 2010 TK7, which is on a bizarrely eccentric orbit around the Sun. The mission will follow in the footsteps of NASA’s Rosetta spacecraft, which had a rendezvous with a comet. The plan is to launch the spacecraft in November 2021, with the manoeuvre happening in August 2025.
Asteroids are important for a few reasons. They are thought to be formed billions of years ago, from the rocks that also became the precursor to the rocky planets. Because of this, they are thought to contain unique information about what went into our planet, and how life may have evolved.
While they could contain hints at how life came about, they also carry the potential to destroy it. An asteroid the size of one that hit Earth 66 million years ago could hit the planet at any point, providing little warning and we currently have little in the way of protection. Understanding how they move can help us predict which ones could be dangerous, and developing ways to land on them and potentially change their trajectories could be a humanity-saving mission one day.
“The exploration of these small bodies could not only help us uncover the origin and evolution of planets and life in the solar system, but also advance the technologies of Earth’s protection and application of space science,” says Hanlun Lei, from Nanjing University. Perhaps the ultimate goal will be to capture an asteroid, or build a manned base on one. China has said this mission will be a stepping stone towards landing people on the Moon, and eventually sending an unmanned mission to Mars.
For some, the future of humanity lies on Mars. It seems China thinks this way too, although building a human presence on Mars is not something the country has explicitly stated as a goal.
China’s stated interest in Mars began in 2009, in a partnership with Russia. When a Russian spacecraft carrying a Chinese orbiter crashed in 2011, China began its own mission. Now, the nation is planning to send an orbiter, lander and rover to the red planet by 2020. A 3D demonstration video from the Chinese Academy of Space Technology explained the Mars probe would fly for around then months before closing in on the planet.
"The best and most direct method to look for evidence of life on Mars is to explore the surface. Mars will be a key focus of China's deep space exploration in the future," says Zheng Yongchun, an associate researcher with the National Astronomical Observatory.
While many of China’s space ambitions are shared with the rest of the world, the one aspect it does not share is listening out for alien signals. While the US started its search for extra-terrestrial intelligence (SETI) programme in 1992, and cancelled it a year later, China is still pursuing the goal.
China’s five-hundred-meter Aperture Spherical Telescope (Fast) telescope in the southwestern Guizhou Province has been built, tested and is now awaiting calibration before it starts scanning the sky for aliens.
Not content with sending humans to asteroids, the Moon and Mars, China also plans on building its very own space station. The first part of the Chinese large modular space station is expected to go into orbit around Earth in 2019 with the final sections in place by 2022. The station will host three crew members, unlike previous efforts which could not support any crew.
The first Chinese space station, Tiangong-1 or ‘Heavenly Place’ launched in 2011, was only supposed to stay in orbit for two years. Seven years later, and we are being told the satellite is out of control, and will crash into our planet in the next few months.
In 2011 it was decided China was not allowed to be part of the International Space Station (ISS) collaboration, when the US Congress passed a law saying it was concerned about national security. The ISS is a joint mission between the US, Canada, Japan, Russia and Europe. Plans to collaborate are continuing, as Nasa and Russia announced a deal to work together building a new space station around the Moon.
But this doesn't rule China out of the picture completely. “The US-Russian agreement is in principle only,” Logsdon sats. “Neither country has a funded program for such a station yet. If the Trump administration does fund such a US station, partnerships with many countries, not just Russia, will be sought. The issue then is whether Congress will allow Nasa to work with China.”
The future of China’s space exploration is diverse and exciting. With many ambitious plans, and a few failures under its belt, it remains to be seen whether China will meet its ambitious goals. What is clear, however, is the country is not wasting any time trying to become the leader of the next space race.
This article was originally published by WIRED UK
