Speaking on Oct. 22 at the 25th Annual Meeting of the China Association for Science and Technology, the most important gathering of Chinese scientific circles, held in Hefei this year, Wu Weiren, the chief designer of China’s lunar exploration program, said that China’s deep space exploration is facing serious challenges because of Western restrictions. He remarked that “deep space exploration has become a new commanding height of international scientific and technological competition and a new frontier for great power competition.” Wu congratulated India on its success with the Chandrayaan-3 lunar landing and expressed regret over the failure of Russia’s Luna-25 mission.
In spite of the Western restrictions, he said that China has nevertheless advanced to a world leading level with the Chang’e-4 soft landing on the far side of the Moon, the Chang’e-5 sample return, and the success of Tianwen-1, the country’s first-ever Mars exploration mission. He explained that China’s deep-space spacecraft tracking and control capabilities have been boosted in the process, realizing a major leap in deep-space tracking and control distance from hundreds of thousands to tens of billions of kilometers.
Chang’e-6, to be launched in 2024, will attempt to achieve the world’s first lunar sample return from the far side of the Moon. Chang’e-7, set for 2026, aims to land on the Moon’s South Pole and carry out lunar resource and environment surveys in the area. China is also beginning feasibility studies for the International Lunar Research Station (ILRS). Azerbaijan has joined the ILRS this year, as has Venezuela. China National Space Administration (CNSA) this year has signed joint statements on the ILRS with the Asia-Pacific Space Cooperation Organization, the Swiss firm nanoSPACE AG, and the Hawaii-based International Lunar Observatory Association. Pakistan has also expressed its intent to join the ILRS.
China also seeks to carry out planetary exploration missions, including sample return missions from Mars and the first implementation of a near-Earth asteroid defense mission. “In view of the low probability and extremely harmful event of a near-Earth asteroid impacting the Earth, we will implement a kinetic energy impact on an asteroid tens of millions of kilometers away to change its orbit and conduct an on-orbit impact assessment.” Wu explained.
Among the top ten frontier engineering questions to be worked on in China for 2023 is how to achieve a crewed round-trip Mars mission using nuclear power.
