Aiming at the "Antarctic-Aitken" Basin Chang'e-6 to explore the way to build a lunar research station
Our reporter Jinfeng Zhang Ye
The Chinese who have been full of infinite reveries about the "Guanghan Palace" since ancient times are uncovering more mysteries of the moon step by step.
At the main forum of the China Space Conference in 2021, Hu Hao, chief engineer of the China National Space Administration's Lunar Exploration and Space Engineering Center and the third phase of the lunar exploration project, revealed that the Chang'e-6 mission will target around 2024 to land on the back of the moon "South Pole-Aite". Sampling returns and detection in the "Ken" basin are the target, and follow-up detailed demonstration work is carried out. "The moon is the only natural satellite on the earth and can be used as an outpost or test site for humans to enter deep space."
Since China officially launched the lunar exploration project in 2004, the "Chang'e" series of probes have sought dream space.
As Chang'e 5 successfully brought back the moon's native product "Lunar Soil" in 2020, China's lunar exploration project successfully completed the three-step strategy of "circumnavigating, descending, and returning".
Chang'e 5 successfully completed its mission and paved the way for its successors.
Hu Hao introduced that the Chang'e-6 detector is the backup of Chang'e-5, and the development of the main products has been completed in 2017.
On April 18, 2019, the National Space Administration issued the "Chang'e 6 Mission International Load Carrying Cooperation Opportunity Announcement". Based on the principles of "Insist on innovation, coordinated space and earth, scientifically feasible, and visible results", the French radon gas was analyzed and selected. Four payloads including the detector, the moon surface water ice occurrence research device jointly applied by Russia and China, the moon surface negative ion detector in Sweden and the laser ranging angle reflector in Italy are listed as preliminary projects.
"Through the Chang'e 6, 7, and 8 missions, conducting lunar-related resource exploration, scientific research, and scientific research technology verification will promote the basic construction of lunar scientific research stations." Hu Hao introduced that the National Space Administration is currently advocating the construction of international lunar scientific research. Stations, to promote larger, broader, and deeper international cooperation to create an infrastructure and sharing platform for solving space science problems, effectively using lunar resources, and developing the Earth-Moon economic circle.
As the only natural satellite of the earth, scientists are full of expectations for the follow-up lunar exploration.
"If you can deploy some detectors on the moon, you can monitor the earth in a long-term, stable, large-scale, real-time manner. The moon still has many resources, such as solar energy, helium-3, ilmenite, and water, which are likely to become the earth's resources. Reserve library." Hu Hao said.
In his view, the moon is also a support point for mankind to move into deep space and a training ground for deep space exploration technology. "With the development of science and technology and the intensification of human activities, if you want to find a piece of pure land on the earth for astronomical observation, there are not many options except for the South Pole. Observing outer space on the earth is more difficult, but the moon has no atmosphere, especially the back of the earth. On the other hand, it is an ideal location for observing outer space. This may allow us to obtain more results at a relatively small cost.” Hu Hao said that scientists are also looking forward to the future, hoping to establish outer space observatories and laboratories on the surface of the moon. , Material transfer station, human activity base, etc. Of course, these all need scientific research argumentation and the support of science and technology.