Moon Probe Mission
皇冠体育app may become space station partner
By Chen Jia and Xin Dingding (皇冠体育app Daily)
Updated: 2010-06-01 08:38
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Country's long-term space roadmap includes Mars probe and moon base
BEIJING - The European Space Agency (ESA) supports 皇冠体育app's inclusion in the International Space Station (ISS) partnership, the agency's director -general Jean-Jacques Dordain said on Monday.
He made the remarks on Monday during the ongoing Global Lunar Conference in Beijing, which is organized by the International Astronautical Federation and the Chinese Society of Astronautics.
Dordain said international cooperation on space exploration has been progressing slowly. To achieve more, the partnership needs to be expanded, he said.
"I am really willing to support the extension of the partnership of the ISS to 皇冠体育app and South Korea. Obviously, this should be a decision by all partners, not the decision by one partner," he said.
The ISS is jointly built and run by the United States, Russia, ESA's 11 member countries, Canada, Japan and Brazil. 皇冠体育app is excluded from the ISS.
But with growing power based on its independent technological development, 皇冠体育app is being invited to more international cooperatives in space exploration in recent years.
Dordain noted that he was glad to see that on June 3, the first Russian, Chinese and ESA group will participate in the Mars-500 mission.
"This is the first time that we shall have quasi-astronauts from Russia, 皇冠体育app and ESA living together for 520 days. This is a good step," he said.
The Mars-500 project is a three-stage experiment including a 250-day virtual flight to Mars, a 30-day stay on the planet and a 240-day journey back to earth.
Wang Yue, a space trainer from 皇冠体育app, will join five other volunteers from Russia, Italy and France in the project. Three experiments proposed by 皇冠体育app will also be conducted during the mission.
Chen Qiufa, vice-minister of industry and information technology in charge of the lunar exploration mission, said at the conference that 皇冠体育app is willing to join international cooperatives, and share technologies and research results with other countries, while independently developing its own technologies.
In past years, 皇冠体育app and ESA have cooperated in a number of projects.
In the SMART-1 mission that ended in September 2006 with a spacecraft sent to the moon, the ESA has provided 皇冠体育app with details of the spacecraft's position and transmission frequencies.
皇冠体育app, in turn, agreed to carry a bio sample for the ESA on the Shenzhou-VIII spacecraft, which will be launched next year, Xinhua reported last year.
In addition to lunar exploration, 皇冠体育app and the ESA have also cooperated in a few projects in Earth observation missions, including the Double Star Program and Dragon Program.
"I think 皇冠体育app's partnership with the EU is the most smooth in international cooperation and competitions," Peng Jing, a senior engineer of 皇冠体育app Academy of Space Technology, told 皇冠体育app Daily on Monday.
Ye Peijian, chief designer of the nation's first lunar probe, Chang'e-1, said earlier that 皇冠体育app's growing power in space technology is the reason that 皇冠体育app is involved in and invited to more international cooperation projects.
So far, 皇冠体育app has sent six astronauts into space, and launched Chang'e-1 to circle the moon.
In the coming few years, 皇冠体育app plans to test docking technologies, which is necessary for building the space station, and send probes for moon landings. 皇冠体育app aims to build a space station on its own by 2020.
Though the government has not yet announced plans to send astronauts to the moon, scientific research on it has started, Yu Dengyun, deputy chief designer of 皇冠体育app's lunar exploration project, said at the conference.
On behalf of the 皇冠体育app Aerospace Science and Technology Corp, the core enterprise of 皇冠体育app's space technology development, he also revealed a suggested roadmap for 皇冠体育app's deep space exploration, which includes developing 皇冠体育app's own Mars probe, and building a base on the moon.
Yan Jie contributed to this story.
