26.04.2024

The International Lunar Research Station (ILRS) will consist of sections on the lunar surface, sections in lunar orbit and sections on Earth, and it will be built in two phases, said Wu Weiren, chief designer of China's lunar exploration program.

Wu, also an academician of the Chinese Academy of Engineering, introduced the ILRS plans while attending the China Space Conference, one of the major events to mark the Space Day of China. The China Space Conference started on Wednesday in Wuhan, capital of central China's Hubei Province.

According to Wu, the first phase of the ILRS construction project will see a basic station built by 2035 in the lunar south pole region. This basic station will have comprehensive scientific facilities with complete basic functions and supporting elements to carry out regular scientific experiments, and develop and utilize resources on a limited scale.

The second phase will see expansion of the station, set for completion by 2045, with a moon-orbiting space station as the hub and facilities featuring complete functions, considerable scale and stable operation. It will carry out comprehensive lunar-based scientific research and resource development and utilization, and conduct technical verification as well as scientific experiments and research for a manned landing on Mars.

Wu said Chang'e-6 will be launched in the near future to carry out sampling on the far side of the moon, which is an important mission ahead of the construction of the basic ILRS.

Chang'e-7 will be launched in 2026 to do environment and resource surveys in the lunar south pole region, while Chang'e-8 will be launched in 2028 to carry out tests aimed at the in-situ utilization of lunar resources.

According to Wu, after completion, the ILRS will consist of the lunar surface section, the lunar orbit section and the Earth surface section, with infrastructure such as an energy power system, a command and information system, and a lunar surface transportation system.

This stage of the ILRS will have energy supply, central control, communication and navigation, Earth-moon roundtrip transport, and lunar surface scientific research functions. It will be capable of carrying out multi-disciplinary and multi-target scientific and technological activities on a large scale over a long period of time, with activities including scientific exploration, resource development and technology verification.

Wu added that China will welcome 50 countries, 500 international research institutions and 5,000 overseas researchers who will join the ILRS program. They will help to develop the station and manage its facilities, and will share in the scientific research results.

The ILRS is a comprehensive scientific experiment facility program initiated by China and jointly developed by multiple countries and organizations.

Latest progress concerning the program was revealed at the launch ceremony of the Space Day of China in Wuhan on Wednesday. New ILRS partners include Nicaragua, the Asia-Pacific Space Cooperation Organization and the Arab Union for Astronomy and Space Sciences.

China will collaborate with these three parties on various issues concerning the ILRS, including its demonstration, engineering implementation, operation and application.

Since 2016, China has celebrated April 24 as the Space Day of China to mark the launch of its first satellite "Dongfanghong-1" into space on April 24, 1970.

Quelle: Xinhua

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China on track for crewed moon landing by 2030, space official says

HELSINKI — China is on target to reach its goal of putting its astronauts on the moon before the end of the decade, according to the country’s human spaceflight agency.

Officials with the China Manned Space Engineering Office (CMSEO) provided a rare update on the crewed lunar program during a press conference at Jiuquan spaceport April 24. 

“The program development for major flight products, including the Long March 10 rocket, the Mengzhou crew spacecraft, the lunar lander Lanyue and the lunar landing suits, are all complete,” said Lin Xiqiang, deputy director of CMSEO. “Their prototype production and tests are in full swing.”

Chinese officials previously announced a plan to put a pair of astronauts on the moon before 2030. Two Long March 10 lunar variant rockets will separately launch Mengzhou and three astronauts and the Lanyue lander. The pair will then perform a lunar orbit rendezvous and docking ahead of descent to the lunar surface. Two astronauts will spend six hours on the lunar surface before rejoining their colleague in lunar orbit and returning to Earth. 

“The development of mechanical and thermal test products for the crew spacecraft and lander have been basically completed. Various rocket engines are undergoing hotfire tests, and the Wenchang crewed lunar exploration launch site is under construction,” Lin said.

New launch infrastructure is required to facilitate the missions. This is being built near China’s existing coastal spaceport at Wenchang, Hainan island.

Furthermore, proposals for a “crew lunar rover and lunar surface payloads solicited from the public are under selection,” Lin stated. CMSA announced a call for proposals for a lunar crew rover, potentially using a commercial development model, in May 2023.

Lin added that astronaut training for the mission includes mastering operation of the Mengzhou and Lanyue spacecraft, including in normal and emergency flight conditions. Rendezvous and docking and manually avoiding obstacles during the lander’s descent were noted as part of the training. Other activities include entering and exiting the lander, working in one-sixth of Earth’s gravity, long-range lunar roving, drilling, sampling and other scientific work on the lunar surface.

The crewed lunar landing mission is part of China’s wider plans to establish a robotic and eventually inhabited moon base. The initiative is known as the International Lunar Research Station (ILRS).

Lin stated that a human lunar landing is a challenging and innovative scientific and technological project. He said efforts will be made to progress with the development and manufacturing in a coordinated way to fulfill the mission as scheduled.

The U.S. meanwhile is working towards returning humans to the moon with its Artemis 3 mission. That mission, earlier scheduled for late 2025 was officially delayed to no earlier than September 2026 in January this year. A report by the Government Accountability Office in December 2023 concluded that the mission was unlikely to happen before 2027.

The CMSEO press event—held on China’s national space day—was primarily to unveil the crew for the Shenzhou-18 mission. That mission is due to launch at 8:59 a.m. (1259 UTC) April 25, reaching Tiangong space station around 6.5 hours later.

The crew will be commanded by Ye Guangfu, veteran of the 2021 Shenzhou-13 mission. Completing the crew will be former PLA Air Force pilots Li Guangsu and Li Cong. The latter pair will be embarking on their first spaceflight missions.

Quelle: SN