China's Space Program News Thread

[zszczhyx]

CCTV NEWS: Moon soil does not contain any organic nutrients. Cannot grow vegetables.

 

[taxiya]

NOTAMN CZ-8 maiden launch time

A2908/20 NOTAMN Q) WIIF/QRALW/IV/NBO/W/000/999/0046S10800E041 A) WIIF B) 2012200429 C) 2012200503 E) AEROSPACE FLIGHT ACTIVITIES WILL TAKE PLACE WI AREA AS FLW: 001254.00S1073338.00E - 001254.00S1082520.00E - 012259.00S1082520.00E - 012259.00S1073338.00E - 001254.00S1073338.00E DRG THIS ACTIVITY ALL TFC INCOMING AND OUTGOING FM JAKARTA FIR TO SINGAPORE FIR ATS ROUTES/SEGMENTS AS MENTION BELOW ARE NOT AVBL: - M774 NOT AVBL BTN KADAR AND TANUR VICE VERSA - W23 NOT AVBL BTN PKP AND PNK VICE VERSA RMK: ALL ACFT SHALL AVOID THIS AREA OR SUBJ ATC CLR F) SFC G) UNL

 

[anzha]

No need to be petty, although it makes sense to do a swap of 10g for 10g from another geologically distinct region. As far as I know, the russians, americans, and chinese all landed in different geological areas so the samples are materially different.

And it should be noted, the US and Soviet Union did swap samples even during the cold war.

I do think the US/Chinese cooperation ban is secretly a boon: it gives the world two different space programs led by very different nations. Competition is a good thing: pure cooperation means you end up sitting in LEO with little or at least painfully slow progress.

If China and America spur each other on more and more both in footprints and flags, and colonies and crops, I'd say we all win.

 

[by78]

A high-resolution image of Chang'e-5's sample return capsule and parachute.

 

[by78]

A series of images showing the extraction of lunar soil samples from the return capsule, the official handover of the samples, the subsequent arrival of the samples to a special laboratory, and finally some images of the special laboratory.

 

[by78]

 

[by78]

 

[by78]

The last two images of this post show the official handover of the samples along with a handover certificate.

 

[by78]

The samples were then put into yet another container and transported to the laboratory specifically commissioned for studying the returned samples.

 

[by78]

Some images of the lunar soil analysis laboratory.