Day: December 15, 2020

(Xinhua)11:29, December 08, 2020

BEIJING, Dec. 8 (Xinhua) — Chinas BeiDou Navigation Satellite System (BDS) is creating new opportunities for the global aviation industry as it expands its international aerospace industry partnerships.

China has been sharing BDS achievements with the world in an open and cooperative manner, coordinating and collaborating with other satellite navigation systems, said Ran Chengqi, director of the China Satellite Navigation Office.

China officially commissioned the BeiDou Navigation Satellite System on July 31, opening the new BDS-3 system to global users.

China has been promoting the incorporation of BDS into the standards of international organizations in fields such as civil aviation, maritime affairs, search and rescue, and mobile communication, said Ran.

A total of 189 BDS-3 performance indicators passed technical verification at the just-concluded 6th plenary meeting of navigation system panel of the International Civil Aviation Organization, highlighting international recognition of BDS-3 services and laying a foundation for promoting its industrial applications.

Backed by the countrys civil aviation authorities and the China Satellite Navigation Office, a joint team has spent 10 years drafting and verifying BDS standards for applications in the civil aviation sector.

The next step involves formulating standards for BDS applications in the global civil aviation sector and developing BDS-based air navigation equipment.

MASSIVE MARKET

The ancient Chinese invented the compass, and the modern Chinese are giving the world BDS, said Wang Yongquan, chairman of Shanghai ComNav Technology Ltd.

BDS brings more choices for global users and integrates with other major satellite navigation systems, said Wang.

As a pioneer in the international satellite navigation market, ComNav Technology has extended its global network to more than 120 countries and regions, including about 40 along the Belt and Road.

The companys products have gained popularity due to its high-accuracy positioning capacities through integration with other navigation systems.

Our products have been applied in UAV (unmanned aerial vehicles) and other domains. We will further explore the civil aviation demand for high-accuracy positioning, Wang said.

China has the worlds second largest civil aviation market. By the end of October, the countrys civil aircraft fleet totaled 6,408, including 3,771 transport aircraft and 2,637 general aircraft, according to the Civil Aviation Administration of China.

Strong growth is expected to continue despite near-term challenges. Chinas airlines are expected to acquire 8,600 new aircraft valued at 1.4 trillion U.S. dollars over the next 20 years, according to Boeings 2020 annual China market forecast released in November.

GREAT POTENTIALS

BDS has been deeply integrating with emerging technologies and playing significant roles in the fight against COVID-19.

BDS-based UAVs and unmanned ground vehicles were used to deliver medical supplies to epidemic-stricken areas.

BDS is also used in some models of Chinas large-scale Wing Loong UAV family.

UAV requires the aid of external systems to bring its role into full play and BDS provides essential support for it, said Li Yidong, chief designer of Wing Loong UAV series of AVIC (Chengdu) Unmanned Aircraft System Company.

BDS can also support emergency telemetry and tele-control with its distinctive short message communication function.

All these have improved the capability and level of services provided by Wing Loong UAVs in important domains such as emergency rescue, meteorological services and maritime monitoring, Li said.

BDS has been installed on about 300 general aircraft, accounting for 11 percent of the total in China, said a report on the construction and development of BDS by the China Satellite Navigation Office.

BDS is one of four global navigation satellite systems, alongside the United States GPS, the European Unions Galileo, and Russias GLONASS.

China has been actively encouraging cooperation and exchanges between BDS and other navigation systems. BDS and GLONASS are compatible, and the BDS and GPS are compatible and interoperable.

BDS will adhere to the principles of openness, cooperation and sharing. We will actively perform in international cooperation and promote the development of global satellite navigation, Ran said.

(Xinhua)11:31, December 08, 2020

SYDNEY, Dec. 8 (Xinhua) — The russet sparrow living in China can use leaves from locally grown aromatic Wormwood (Artemisia verlotorum) in a similar way how human will use this plant to protect their offspring from parasite infection, a new international study has shown.

Released on Tuesday, the study, conducted by researchers from Australias Griffith University, Chinas Hainan Normal University and Paris-Saclay University in France, had discovered the birds utilized the medicinal property of wormwood leaves as a form of preventive medicine to reduce the number of parasites in their nests.

The phytochemical compounds within wormwood leaves reduced infestation of the nest parasites otherwise found there, which results in the production of healthier chicks, William Feeney from Griffith Universitys Environmental Futures Research Institute said.

The use of wormwood, which contains anti-parasite compounds as a medicinal plant dates back to ancient times in China, and still can be observed in the annual Dragon Boat Festival.

The Dragon Boat Festival is one of Chinas largest national festivals, where people ritualistically hang wormwood from their doors and bath their children in wormwood infused water with the customary belief that it confers protection against ill health, Feeney said.

In the study, researchers found the birds started to incorporate the wormwood leaves into their nests around the same time as the Dragon Boat Festival, suggesting the plant may serve a similar function for both humans and the sparrows.

Using a series of behavioral experiments, we show that the birds actively seek out nest locations close to the available wormwood and resupply established nests with fresh wormwood leaves using gathered based solely on the leaves smell, Feeney said.

The nests containing wormwood leaves had lower parasite loads. By decreasing the number of parasites such as mites, the sparrows that add more wormwood leaves to their nest produce heavier and healthier chicks.

(Xinhua)14:48, December 06, 2020

A graphic simulation shows the orbiter and returner combination of Chinas Change-5 probe after its separation from the ascender. The orbiter and returner combination of Chinas Change-5 probe successfully separated from the spacecrafts ascender at 12:35 p.m. Sunday (Beijing Time), according to the China National Space Administration (CNSA). The orbiter-returner combination will continue to orbit the moon, and wait for the right time to return to Earth with lunar samples. (CNSA/Handout via Xinhua)

BEIJING, Dec. 6 (Xinhua) — The orbiter and returner combination of Chinas Change-5 probe successfully separated from the spacecrafts ascender at 12:35 p.m. Sunday (Beijing Time), according to the China National Space Administration (CNSA).

The orbiter-returner combination will continue to orbit the moon, and wait for the right time to return to Earth with lunar samples.

Earlier on Sunday, the probes ascender successfully rendezvoused and docked with the orbiter-returner combination in lunar orbit.

This is the first time a Chinese spacecraft has carried out rendezvous and docking in lunar orbit.

The samples collected on the moon have been transferred from the ascender to the returner, the CNSA said.

Change-5 is one of the most complicated and challenging missions in Chinas aerospace history. It is also the worlds first moon-sample mission in more than 40 years.

The Change-5 probe, comprising an orbiter, a lander, an ascender and a returner, was launched on Nov. 24, and its lander-ascender combination touched down on the north of the Mons Rumker in Oceanus Procellarum, also known as the Ocean of Storms, on the near side of the moon on Dec. 1.

The returner of the probe is expected to land at the Siziwang Banner in north Chinas Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region in mid-December.

(Xinhua)08:48, December 07, 2020

WASHINGTON, Dec. 6 (Xinhua) — NASA and SpaceX launched the first mission of the upgraded cargo version of Dragon spacecraft on Sunday.

The spacecraft lifted off on a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket at 11:17 a.m. EST Sunday, from historic Launch Complex 39A at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida.

SpaceX confirmed the separation of Dragon from Falcon 9s second stage about 11 minutes after liftoff. The spacecraft is scheduled to autonomously dock to the space station on Monday, the first automated docking for a SpaceX cargo resupply mission.

Falcon 9s reusable first-stage booster has successfully landed on the Of Course I still Love You droneship, stationed in the Atlantic Ocean.

The mission, dubbed CRS-21, is the first flight of the updated cargo version of Dragon, which is capable of carrying about 20 percent more volume than the previous version of Dragon and has double the amount of powered locker cargo capability.

Packed inside cargo Dragon are critical science investigations, supplies, and equipment bound for the orbiting laboratory, including meteorite samples and microbes, 3D engineered heart tissues, and a tool being tested for quick and accurate blood analysis in microgravity.

The Dragon spacecraft is now designed for up to five flights to and from the space station, and the cargo version of the spacecraft can stay on station more than twice as long as the previous version of Dragon, according to SpaceX.

Cargo Dragons arrival at the space station will mark the first time two Dragon spacecraft will be docked to the orbiting laboratory at the same time. The Crew Dragon spacecraft, named Resilience, that brought the Crew-1 astronauts has been docked since its arrival on Nov. 16.

The cargo Dragon spacecraft will remain attached to the space station for about one month, after which it will return to Earth with 5,200 pounds of research and return cargo, splashing down in the Atlantic Ocean.

(Xinhua)09:40, December 07, 2020

ZHENGZHOU, Dec. 6 (Xinhua) — A U.S. magazine has chosen Chinas oldest known sculpture artwork as one of the Top 10 Discoveries of 2020.

Archaeology, a publication of the Archaeological Institute of America, gave the honor to a 13,500-year-old miniature bird sculpture unearthed at an archaeological site in central Chinas Henan Province.

The magazine quoted archaeologist Francesco dErrico of the University of Bordeaux saying that if a carved object can be perceived as beautiful or recognized as the product of quality craftsmanship, the person who produced the figurine should be seen as an accomplished artist.

In June, an international team of archaeologists from China, Canada, France, Israel and Norway unveiled their study on the sculpture, suggesting it is the oldest known work of Chinese sculpture art.

The discovery sets back not only the origin of sculpture in East Asia by more than 8,500 years but also the history of the art form of birds found in China by 8,000 years.

The bird statue, which is 19.2 mm long, 5.1 mm wide and 12.5 mm high, is dark brown on one side and bronze on the other.

Made of a mammalian limb bone, which had been heated and charred before carving, the bird figurine has a stout body shape, short head, round beak and long tail. Instead of carving the birds legs, the unknown ancient artist cut a base for the sculpture to stand on.

The magazine votes for the top 10 archaeological discoveries every December. Six archaeological discoveries in China have made the list since 2006.

(Xinhua)09:54, December 07, 2020

KUNMING, Dec. 6 (Xinhua) — Southwest Chinas Yunnan Province has developed a walnut gene pool with a total of 2,005 walnut germplasm collections.

The gene pool is believed to be the largest genebank for the Juglans sigillata collections, also called iron walnut, said Wang Weibin, deputy chief of the provincial forestry and grassland bureau.

The genebank is part of the forestry germplasm resource preservation system developed by the province.

To promote the ecological protection and industrial development of the forestry and grassland, the province has set up 5,551 tree seed production bases with a total area of 55,200 hectares, Wang said.

Yunnan has more than 800 years of history of growing walnuts. At the end of 2017, more than 90 percent of the cities and counties in Yunnan grew walnuts.

(Xinhua)09:58, December 07, 2020

CANBERRA, Dec. 6 (Xinhua) — A space capsule carrying samples from a faraway asteroid has landed safely in the South Australian outback.

Authorities on Sunday recovered the capsule, which was sent towards Earth by the Japanese Aerospace Exploration Agencys Hayabusa2 spacecraft following a six-year, 5.25-billion-km mission to collect rocks from the asteroid Ryugu.

It marks the first time that a sub-surface asteroid sample has returned to Earth, with scientists hopeful that the samples will help answer fundamental questions about the solar system including where the water came from.

The capsule briefly lit up the South Australian sky in the early hours of Sunday morning as it briefly turned into a fireball while streaking across the sky.

It landed in the Department of Defences Woomera Prohibited Area approximately 500 km north of Adelaide and was later located by a helicopter.

Karen Andrews, Australias Minister for Industry, Science and Technology, said the mission was an important scientific feat and a significant moment for the Australian Space Agency (ASA), which is headquartered in South Australia.

This landing will enable scientists to gain insights into the origin and evolution of the solar system, including organic matter and water, which could hint at how our oceans came to be, she said.

It also reinforces Australias place as a trusted partner in space, as we look to triple the size of the local sector and create 20,000 new jobs by 2030.

Hayabusa2 was launched in 2014 and collected the samples in February and July 2019.

(Chinadaily.com.cn)10:20, November 30, 2020

Children play in Dove Lane, in the old town of Tuancheng in Hotan, Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region. (Photo/Xinhua)

Report accused of wrongly identifying civil institutions as detention centers

Using satellite images to prove the existence of detention centers in the Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region is absurd and misleading, a regional government spokesman said on Saturday.

Some overseas think tanks have made sensational deductions by simply studying satellite images of Xinjiang, Ilijan Anayt told a news conference in Urumqi, the regional capital. In a report titled Documenting Xinjiangs Detention System by the Australian Strategic Policy Institute, buildings with outer walls were all considered detention centers, he said.

As a matter of fact, they are just civil institutions, Ilijan said.

The detention center in the city of Turpan mentioned in the report is a local administrative building, and the detention centers in Kashgar prefecture are care homes, logistics parks and high school buildings, he said while presenting photos of the buildings that were alleged to be detention centers or forced labor venues.

So-called independent think tanks like ASPI are not academic research centers, but anti-China tools manipulated by the United States government, Ilijan said.

Their research is simply subjective fabrication filled with preconceptions and hostility. Their sources and clues are from US anti-China NGOs or unverifiable and untraceable eyewitness evidence, he explained.

They even used interactive maps as satellite images, which is quite absurd, and even the Australian academic circle thinks their research has no academic value, Ilijan said, adding that Xinjiang is open so there is no need to learn about it through satellite images.

For some years, Xinjiang has been a victim of terrorism and religious extremism. According to preliminary statistics, between 1990 and the end of 2016, separatists, religious extremists and terrorists plotted and carried out several thousand acts of terrorism, resulting in the deaths of a large number of innocent civilians.

To tackle the problem at the roots, Xinjiang has set up vocational education and training centers since 2014 in accordance with the law to offer deradicalization programs to those influenced by religious extremism and terrorism. The US government and some Western media then started to accuse China of setting up a large-scale detention program targeting people from certain ethnic groups by quoting research from anti-China think tanks.

On Saturday, graduates of the centers also refuted claims that trainees are subjected to forced brainwashing and labor, abuse and even sexual assault.

The regional government announced in December that all trainees taking part in the deradicalization program had graduated.

My classmates and I have never experienced things like that, nor even heard of it, Mukerem Memet, a graduate from the center in Hotan county, Hotan prefecture, said in reply to a question from a reporter working for a foreign media outlet. Those unsubstantiated allegations are fabricated. If we were tortured mentally and physically, how could I meet and talk with you like this today?

With the computer skills he learned at the center, Mukerem soon found a job after graduation. His family also find him more outgoing than before and feel happy for him, he said.

(Peoples Daily Online)11:14, November 26, 2020

Central banks and regulatory agencies in various countries, including China, are paying increasing attention to digital currency.

As of mid-July, at least 36 central banks around the world have released plans for launching a digital currency, according to a report recently released by the Bank for International Settlements (BIS), an international financial institution owned by central banks.

(Photo/pixabay.com)

The raging COVID-19 epidemic has increased the demand for paperless transactions. Furthermore, a digital currency can achieve targeted allocation of relief funds during the outbreak.

Digital currencies can also help cut social management costs as well as costs generated by the issuance and circulation of traditional paper currency, make the payment and settlement process safer, more convenient and efficient, and better support economic and social development, said Zhou Maohua, an analyst at the financial markets department of China Everbright Bank.

Insiders pointed out that by speeding up the research and testing of digital currency, countries are actually fighting over a say in the field of science and technology. The digital currency that is first developed and put into standardized use may become a global standard, they explained.

With the continuous deepening information revolution and the rapid evolution of the digital economy, the international community and major economies have paid great attention to the development of central bank digital currencies (CBDC), said a recent report by the Peoples Bank of China.

Sweden has entered the CBDC pilot test stage, and some economies are engaged in research and development, while others are verifying the feasibility of CBDC.

Based on its advantages related to digitization and security, CBDC can extend services to areas that traditional financial services are unable to reach through mobile app and network communications.

Unlike cash, which is totally anonymous, CBDC can achieve controllable anonymity, improving the efficiency and accuracy of identifying illegal and criminal acts such as money laundering, terrorist financing and tax evasion, while protecting users鈥?rightful privacy.

Zhu Min, chair of the National Institute of Financial Research, Tsinghua University, considers the development of digital currency an important field and channel for the internationalization of RMB.

Digital currency will become the commanding heights of future currency market competition, Zhu said, adding that as the worlds second largest economy and second largest financial market, China boasts a huge market for e-commerce and digital circulation, which makes the development and application of digital currency all the more important.