China science, technology news summary -- July 18

BEIJING, July 18 (Xinhua)

The following is a summary of published science and technology news of China. CHINA'S MANNED LUNAR MISSION The China Manned Space Agency (CMSA) on Monday released an announcement to solicit proposals for payloads of the country's manned lunar mission, which will be used for scientific exploration on the moon's surface.

To make full use of the mission's resources and promote lunar exploration and scientific research, the lunar lander will carry scientific payload for relevant exploration activities on the lunar surface, according to the announcement.

COMMERCIAL SPACE PROJECTS China unveiled a series of commercial space projects at the recent 9th China (International) Commercial Aerospace Forum held in Wuhan.

The programs are expected to provide more service in sectors such as natural resources survey, disaster warning and remote sensing.

The projects include an ultra-low orbit satellite constellation, the Tianmu meteorological constellation, Luojia-2 SAR remote sensing application system, satellite data application public service platform for the city of Wuhan, a satellite resource sharing service platform, Nvwa constellation, four-dimension Earth remote sensing cloud service platform, Tianlong-3 large liquid-propellant carrier rocket and the Weihai-1 satellite payload for laser communication.

Yuan Jie, chief executive officer of the China Aerospace Science and Industry Corporation Limited (CASIC), said that with these major projects, China's commercial space sector will enter a new stage of using satellite data to provide services in new consumer areas.

CHINA'S SPACE EXPERIMENTS China's Shenzhou-16 astronauts recently worked with researchers on the ground in a number of in-orbit experiments including fluid physics experiments and cold atom interferometer set-up, according to the China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation (CASC).

In the microgravity environment of space, fluid physics research has a wide range of applications, such as spacecraft thermal management and propellant management, said the CASC.

The crew have been working and living in-orbit for a month and a half, and they have completed tasks such as the installation of the space radiation biological exposure experiment equipment and electric propulsion system gas cylinder.