NEWS NATURE|Vol 450|1 November 2007

China blasts off on lunar exploration

China’s Moon exploration programme has astronaut, Yang Liwei, into orbit, making China AP kicked off with the launch of its first lunar the third country to do this after the United orbiter. Launched on 24 October from Sichuan States and the Soviet Union. Two astronauts province in southwest China, the orbiter is a flew aboard Shenzhou 6 in 2005. A spacewalk small step in an ambitious, and not yet official, is the next milestone, planned for next year. plan to send astronauts to the Moon sometime Eventually, the capabilities of the two pro- after 2020. But its significance lies in China’s grammes are expected to merge. But there have hopes of becoming the fifth power to put a been few official pronouncements from the top probe into lunar orbit. levels of government. A deputy commander for “It’s a technological confidence-builder,” says the Shenzhou programme has said China could Joan Johnson-Freese, a China space analyst at have people on the Moon by 2020; Clark thinks the Naval War College in Newport, Rhode such a date is optimistic, but possible. Top Island. Communist Party officials have avoided com- As is often the case when China flexes its mitting to a specific date, probably for fear of muscles, the world has taken notice. Analysts making it too much of a competition with the say China’s space programme is spurring United States, says Vincent Sabathier, director competition among its Asian neighbours, even for space initiatives at the Center for Strategic as it seeks assistance and collaboration from and International Studies in Washington DC. Europe. Meanwhile, the United States, wary of “They’re trying to avoid this race,” he says. military competition in space following China’s China’s lunar probe lifts off from the Xichang launch Yet in September, NASA administrator anti-satellite weapons test in January, is moni- centre, aiming to reach the Moon by 5 November. Michael Griffin evoked the language of the old toring the programme carefully. US–Soviet space race when he said China might The 2.3-tonne, US$190-million Chang’e-1 it’s painfully slow,” says Phillip Clark, head of very well beat America in sending astronauts spacecraft — named after a mythical Chinese the Molniya Space Consultancy in Hastings, back to the Moon. Some observers, including goddess whom legend says flew to the Moon UK, who has studied the history of China’s Johnson-Freese, say this was perhaps more a — rode on a Long March 3A rocket that blasted space programme. case of Griffin expressing his frustrations with off from the Xichang launch centre. If all goes Johnson-Freese notes that the Chang’e mis- NASA’s progress in returning to the Moon than to plan, by 5 November the probe will have sions are exploratory science missions managed a reflection of any race with China — after the parked itself in an orbit around the Moon. It by the nominally civilian China National Space Chang’e launch, Griffin sent congratulations to will then begin a year-long geological and min- Administration, as opposed to China’s manned his Chinese counterpart. NASA is planning to eralogical analysis as it inspects the surface for missions, which are under the control of launch its own Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter future landing sites. the People’s Liberation Army. In 2003, the into a low polar orbit late in 2008. Chang’e is carrying a camera and an alti- Shenzhou 5 mission carried the nation’s first China has made a few overtures towards meter to build a three-dimensional map of the working in space with other governments, lunar surface, spectrometers to determine the suggesting that it might want to join the Inter- Moon’s elemental composition, a radiometer national Space Station. The European Space NASA to map soil depths by measuring reflected Agency has encouraged such collabora- microwaves, and detectors to monitor the tion, for instance allowing China to test solar wind. its tracking stations for Chang’e by fol- That will set the stage for Chang’e- lowing the 2003 launch of Europe’s 2, which aims to land a rover on the SMART-1 lunar orbiter. Moon by 2012. The rover would Any new space race will be transmit video footage and analyse mainly in Asia, says Sabathier. soil samples. Scientists in Shang- In September, Japan launched hai are developing a nuclear- its SELENE mission, a sophisti- powered prototype that resem- cated lunar orbiter nicknamed bles NASA’s current Mars rovers Kaguya, which has reached lunar Spirit and Opportunity, although orbit and released two small it is not clear if China’s space satellites. It is checking its instru- agency will select this design. A ments and will begin measure- possible subsequent Chang’e-3 ments in December. Meanwhile, mission would gather lunar rock India is planning to launch a lunar samples and return them to Earth. orbiter and impactor in April, called China’s space missions are organ- The Moon may be the target of Chandrayaan-1, with potentially a ized as five-year plans, each designed to an Asian space race. rover to follow. ■ make significant technological advances Eric Hand over the previous one. “By Western standards, See Editorial, page 2.

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