Chinese astronaut and former pilot Yang Liwei said that the next-generation crewed spacecraft will enable Beijing to send up to 7 astronauts, and may blast off for space for the first time between 2027 and 2028, as the global space race has intensified.
China’s crewed space flights commenced in 2003 when the former fighter pilot Liwei, was sent into orbit in a small bronze-coloured capsule, the Shenzhou-5. He was the country’s first man to explore space and an instant hero cheered by millions.
Guangzhou Daily cited Yang as saying at a Chinese university Monday: “In the future, a new generation of spacecraft will be used on crewed lunar missions, to build our space station, and for deep-space exploration.”
Yang, who is currently deputy chief designer of China’s manned spaceflight project, said: “Recent tests on the return capsule of the next-generation spacecraft have been very successful, with their first flights estimated to take place between 2027 and 2028.”
The next-generation spacecraft was first tested in 2020.
Since China’s space station became operational late last year, the focus has now shifted to a project to land astronauts on the moon by 2030, with engineers recently disclosing more details of the plan — from the type of carrier rockets to be used to the spacecraft transporting astronauts and other equipment.
China’s current Shenzhou spacecraft, based on Russia’s Soyuz, can transport up to three astronauts to low-Earth orbit.
It consists of a life-support and propulsion module, an in-orbit module for short-term human habitation, and a re-entry capsule for their return to Earth.
“The new generation of crewed spacecraft will comprise just two parts — the propulsion and the return modules — to allow for bigger modules and a larger carrying capacity of up to seven people,” Zhang Bainan, chief designer of the trial version of the new-generation spacecraft, said in 2020.
The return module’s high heat resistance also allows much of it to be re-used.
The goal is to construct the first lunar train system, which will enable safe, independent, and effective cargo transportation on the moon, according to robotics specialist Ethan Schaler of NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California.
He went on, “The day-to-day functioning of a sustainable lunar base in the 2030s will depend heavily on a robust, long-lasting robotic transport system.”
The Flexible Levitation on a Track, or FLOAT, is the name of the proposed lunar rail system. According to NASA, the establishment of a railway system on the moon is “critical to the daily operations.”
According to the space agency, the primary objective of FLOAT is to offer transportation services in regions of the moon where astronauts are engaged in activities. To do this, cargoes of lunar soil and other materials will need to be transported to various regions of the moon.
Each robot will be able to transport cargo of various sizes and shapes at a pace of roughly 1 mph (1.61 km/h), according to Dr. Schaler.
Notably, NASA also declared new initiatives last month to create and test new vehicle models intended for moon exploration.
Pakistan’s lunar mission (ICUBE-Q) entered orbit around the moon on Wednesday.
Pakistan’s historic lunar mission (ICUBE-Q) launched from Hainan, China, on Friday aboard China’s Chang’E6 spacecraft.
According to the IST, the satellite ICUBE-Q was planned and developed in partnership with China’s Shanghai University SJTU and Pakistan’s national space agency SUPARCO.
The ICUBE-Q orbiter is equipped with two optical cameras to image the lunar surface. ICUBE-Q has now been integrated into the Chang’e6 mission after successfully qualifying and testing it.
Chang’e6 is the sixth lunar exploration mission launched by China.
The launch event was streamed live on the IST website and social media platforms. Chang’6, China’s Lunar Mission, will land on the Moon’s far side to collect surface samples before returning to Earth for further research.
SIFC was established to improve the ease of doing business for potential investors through a “Whole of Government”Approach”—achieving optimal horizontal-vertical synergy and facilitation by the Pakistan Army—and to attract investments from friendly countries in selected sectors through an empowered organisation that serves as a “single-window” platform for facilitation.
The children will learn the newest skills in these state-of-the-art IT labs, expanding their employment prospects.
These IT laboratories will be constructed in sixteen degree colleges spread throughout various parts of Islamabad.
Students will take six-month courses in artificial intelligence (AI), game development, data science, and block chain in these IT labs.
Approximately 1,000 students will have access to courses in the first phase, which is being implemented in response to market demand.
The National Vocational and Technical Training Commission has worked with esteemed universities such as NUST, National Skills University, COMSATS, and NUML to produce these courses.
The second week of this month will mark the start of these classes. For these courses, about 3,600 students have signed up.