Day: July 25, 2019

(Xinhua)13:48, May 16, 2019

BEIJING, May 16 (Xinhua) — Chinas Yutu-2, the first rover on the far side of the moon, has found materials from deep inside the moon that could help unravel the mystery of the lunar mantle composition and the formation and evolution of the moon and the earth.

Using data obtained by the visible and near infrared spectrometer installed on Yutu-2, a research team led by Li Chunlai, with the National Astronomical Observatories of China under the Chinese Academy of Sciences, found that the lunar soil in the landing area of the Change-4 probe contains olivine and pyroxene which came from the lunar mantle deep inside the moon.

The first important scientific discovery of the Change-4 probe since it made the first-ever soft landing on the far side of the moon was published online in the latest issue of the academic journal Nature.

The moon comprises a core, mantle and crust, like the earth. With the evolution of lunar magma, the light plagioclase rose to the upper layer to form the lunar crust, while the heavier olivine and pyroxene sank to form the lunar mantle, Li said.

But since the lunar crust is very thick, and there has been no volcanic activity and plate movement on the moon for billions of years, its hard to find materials from the lunar mantle on the surface, Li said.

The composition of the lunar mantle has long been the subject of theory. Neither the lunar samples from missions by the United States and Soviet Union, nor the remote sensing probes orbiting the moon have provided direct evidence of the accurate composition of the lunar mantle.

Chinese scientists focused on a special area on the far side of the moon — the South Pole-Aitken (SPA) Basin, which was formed by a celestial collision over 4 billion years ago. With a diameter of 2,500 km and a depth of about 13 km, the basin is the oldest and largest impact crater on the moon.

After Change-4 successfully landed on the Von Karman Crater in SPA Basin on Jan. 3 this year, the Yutu-2 rover obtained good quality spectral data at two sites.

The data, unlike that obtained by Yutu on the near side of the moon, gave us a pleasant surprise, said Li.

Analysis showed the lunar soil in the landing area contains a large amount of olivine, low-calcium pyroxene and a small amount of high-calcium pyroxene, which are very likely from the lunar mantle, Li said.

So how did the materials from deep inside the moon get there?

After analyzing the high-resolution remote sensing images and the hyperspectral data, the researchers believed the materials were ejected from a 72-km-wide crater named Finsen to the northeast of the Von Karman Crater.

Li explained that after the SPA Basin was formed, more small asteroids crashed into the area, leading to more small craters. The collision that caused the Finsen Crater might have been so violent that the materials were knocked into the Von Karman Crater.

When scientists were selecting the landing site for Change-4, flat areas were given priority. However, most of the flat areas on the moon are basalt formed as magma solidified.

It was lucky that Change-4 probe landed in a region where the basalt is covered by lunar mantle debris.

Furthermore, the rover is driving at the edge of the ejecta. According to our calculation, it might reach the basalt area in another 2 km or so. When it reaches the basalt area, we can compare the composition of the different lunar soils, Li said.

He said the study could provide a reference for a future mission to collect and return with samples and even the construction of a lunar base.

If the planned Change-6 probe can go to that area, it would not only get the first-ever sample from the far side of the moon, but also have the chance to collect samples of materials coming from deep inside the moon, Li said.

Most of the evolution of the moon happened about 3 billion years ago, while the early history of Earth before 3 billion years ago has been erased by geological activities. The moon is like a fossil that gives a glimpse of the early history of Earth, Li added.

(Xinhua)15:47, May 16, 2019

BEIJING, May 16 (Xinhua) — China has developed a number of new-generation carrier rockets to take the countrys space industry to the next level.

LONG MARCH-7

The Long March-7 is a medium-sized carrier rocket with high reliability and safety. It is designed to launch cargo vehicles during the construction of Chinas manned space station project and meet the long-term demand for upgrading manned carrier rockets in service.

The rocket is 53.1 meters long with a core-level diameter of 3.35 meters, four 2.25m-diameter boosters and a takeoff weight of 596 tonnes. It has a lift capability of sending 13.5 tonnes of payload to low-Earth orbit, or 5.5 tonnes of payload to sun-synchronous orbit, according to Wang Xiaojun, who is in charge of the Long March-7 rocket system.

It is also Chinas first digitally designed carrier rocket, meaning no paper blueprint was used throughout the design and production process.

LONG MARCH-9

The Long March-9 rocket will be Chinas largest heavy-lift carrier rocket. It will be capable of lifting 50 to 140 tonnes into low-Earth orbit, which is key to Chinas lunar exploration, deep space explorations, space infrastructure construction and utilization of space resources.

It will greatly enhance Chinas ability to promote space development and safeguard space security, said Zhang Zhi, chief designer of the rocket.

In addition, the heavy rocket is being designed to facilitate Chinas lunar missions, including crewed landings.

LONG MARCH-11

The Long March-11 is a four-stage solid-fueled rocket that is used to launch payloads to low-Earth and sun-synchronous orbits. It is 20.8 meters long, with a maximum diameter of two meters and a takeoff weight of 58 tonnes.

It can be launched within 24 hours.

China is planning its first sea-launch of satellites carried by a Long March-11 rocket this year.

(Xinhua)17:21, May 16, 2019

TIANJIN, May 16 (Xinhua) — North Chinas Tianjin Municipality has completed the countrys first inspection of electric power lines using drones and the 5G wireless network, whose future application could exempt workers from the dangerous job.

The inspection on Wednesday afternoon involved a drone equipped with a high-definition camera and a 5G terminal. It flew 6 kilometers in the Binhai New Area and transmitted instantaneous videos of the power lines to engineers who checked for signs of glitches.

The State Grid Tianjin Electric Power Company, which carried out the mission, said a land-based robot was also mobilized to scrutinize an electrical substation near the power lines.

Traditional inspections require maintenance personnel to scale towers and carefully inspect the lines in person, which is very laborious work, said Zhang Zhipeng, a senior engineer with the State Grids Tianjin branch.

Drones had been previously deployed to replace humans in the inspections, but the 4G environment did not support the transmission of high-definition videos required for the detection of minute defects, Zhang told Xinhua.

The ultra-low latency of the 5G network also ensures high precision of the inspection and prevents the robot from entering dangerous areas by mistake, Zhang said.

The 5G network, which promises much higher speed and lower latency than 4G, is believed to set the stage for a new generations of technologies including the Internet of Things.

(Xinhua)07:19, May 17, 2019

Microsoft Corporation has established an Artificial Intelligence and Internet of Things Insider Lab in Shanghai to aid digital transformation across industries.

Located in a 2,800-square-meter building in the Zhangjiang Hi-Tech Park of the Pudong New Area, the lab, which began operation Wednesday, is established in partnership with the state-run Zhangjiang Group. It is the fourth and also the largest such lab run by Microsoft around the world.

Microsoft said the lab provides all-around support for enterprises inside and taps into the Internet of Things and AI technologies to fuel the digital transformation taking place across industries, including manufacturing, retail, healthcare, finance and urban construction.

Thirty Chinese and foreign businesses have been selected out of some 300 applicants as the first batch of enterprises of empowerment in the lab. They include both start-ups, among which 21 are based in Shanghai, and multinational corporations, such as ABB Engineering (Shanghai) Ltd. and Pan Asia Technical Automotive Center Co., Ltd.

The lab will provide support for the enterprises in the next three to six months, offering hardware and software resources, cloud service and access to the Microsoft ecosystem, according to Microsoft.

The combination and application of AI and Internet of Things technologies are becoming the latest trends leading global digital transformation, Alain Crozier, Microsoft corporate vice president, chairman and CEO of Greater China Region, said at a launch ceremony held Wednesday.

A survey indicates that global Internet of Things business will exceed 255 billion U.S. dollars in 2022, and China will occupy nearly a quarter of it, which means a market with huge potentials, he said, adding that the lab aims to help enterprises win market opportunities brought by the technology innovations.

The three other Microsoft AI IoT Insider Labs are located in Redmond of Washington, Shenzhen of China and Munich of Germany.