China to probe Sun-Earth environment

BEIJING, July 20 (Xinhua) -- As China steps up its lunar exploration, some scientists in the country are planning another space project, the "KuaFu Mission", aiming to study the activities of the Sun.

At the ongoing 36th Committee on Space Research Scientific Assembly, Tu Chuanyi, a member of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, said the project, expected to be launched in 2012, will study the complex Sun-Earth system and improve the space weather forecast.

The mission will raise the standard of end-to-end observation of the Sun-Earth system, and advance scientists' understanding of the basic physical processes underlying space weather, said Tu, who is also a professor with the Beijing University.

Tu said the mission is designed to observe the complete chain of disturbances from the solar atmosphere to geospace, including solar flares, coronal mass ejections (CMEs), interplanetary clouds, shock waves, and their geo-effects, such as magnetic storms and auroral activities.

The name of the mission comes from an ancient Chinese legend of KuaFu, who tried to catch the Sun and enter it.

"The KuaFu mission may start at the next solar maximum, the year of 2012, and with an initial mission lifetime of two to three years," Tu said.

He said the mission is composed of three satellites: KuaFu-A and KuaFu B1 and B2. KuaFu-A will be located at the Lagrangian point L1, the point stable with respect to gravitational forces between the Sun and the Earth, and have solar instruments to continuously observe the solar activities.

KuaFu B1 and B2 will be in polar Earth orbits that enable continuous observations of the aurora in northern hemisphere, which shows the influence of the Sun activities to the Earth, said the scientist.

The KuaFu mission is now at the comprehensive review stage, said Tu, adding that this study will be concentrated on a further review of the mission objectives and a further decision of the scientific payload.

At the same time, the Chinese space industry will conduct preliminary engineering studies on various technical elements, including satellite platform, launch strategy, tracking and control as well as data transmission system.

A dozen of leading scientists from Germany, France, Belgium, Austria, Canada and other countries are expected to participate in the project.

William Liu, chief scientist of space physics and atmosphere science with the Canadian Space Agency, told Xinhua that the KuaFu mission is of great scientific significance and would reach the world leading level in this field.

If the mission is launched as expected, it will be the world's first space project systematically probing the Sun-Earth environment, he said.

Violent solar activities may cause malfunction of satellites, disturbance to the communication facilities on the Earth, and bring danger to the life safety of astronauts, Liu said.

The KuaFu mission may help predict solar activities and enable human to take measures to prevent damage caused by the solar activities, Liu said.

However, Liu said China still faces many technological problems to implement the KuaFu project.

The KuaFu-A must be accurately sent to the Lagrangian point, which is 1.5 million kilometers away from the Earth. But China has never sent a satellite to a distance that far, Liu said.

In addition, personnel on Earth must adjust the satellite and receive the weak signals from the satellite. These key technologies have not been acquired by China at present, Liu said.

The project will help the development of those technologies in China, he added.

Eric Donovan, an associate professor with the University of Calgary of Canada, said Canadian scientists will take part in the design of the satellites orbiting around the Earth and the instruments to be carried on the satellites. Enditem

BEIJING, July 19 (Xinhua) -- A senior Chinese space agency official said here on Wednesday that China would actively plan its deep space exploration over the next five years, focusing on lunar and Mars exploration.

Sun Laiyan, administrator of the China National Space Administration, said China would study the distribution and utilization of lunar resources and terrestrial planetary science as well as exploring scientific measures for supporting mankind's sustainable survival on Earth. Full story <<<

Peaceful utilization of outer space rights of all nations

BEIJING, July 17 (Xinhua) -- Outer space is the shared resource of human beings. Exploration, peaceful utilization and development of outer space are rights of all nations throughout the world, Chinese President Hu Jintao said here Monday.

Society also share the responsibility of maintaining a peaceful and clean space, he said in a congratulatory letter sent to the 36th Scientific Assembly of the Committee on Space Research (COSPAR) which began on Monday in Beijing.

In his letter, Hu said humans have traveled a long path in exploring space and had made fruitful achievements. Full story <<<