Free Newsletters - Space - Defense - Environment - Energy
..
. Medical and Hospital News .




DRAGON SPACE
China shows off moon rover model before space launch
by Staff Writers
Shanghai (AFP) Nov 05, 2013


China offered a rare glimpse into its secretive space programme on Tuesday, displaying a model of a lunar rover that will explore the moon's surface in an upcoming mission.

Beijing has ambitious space goals, including plans to send its first probe to land on the moon by the end of this year, state media reported in August.

The gold-coloured rover model, with six wheels and wing-like solar panels, attracted admiring crowds at the opening of the China International Industry Fair in Shanghai.

The rover's designer, Shanghai Aerospace Systems Engineering Research Institute, said the real thing would be lifted aloft by a Long March 3B rocket scheduled to be launched in early December.

Beijing sees its military-run space programme as a marker of its rising global stature and growing technological might, as well as the ruling Communist Party's success in turning around the fortunes of the once poverty-stricken nation.

The showcasing of the rover came on the same day that India was due to launch its first mission to Mars, aiming to become the only Asian nation to reach the Red Planet.

The Shanghai-based institute, a unit of China Aerospace Science and Technology Corp., which is linked to the military, claimed several technological breakthroughs with the rover.

Advances include its "autonomous" navigation system and the way the wheels are able to grip the powdery surface of the moon, according to materials from the institute.

It can climb inclines of up to 30 degrees and travel up to 200 metres (yards) per hour, it said.

"It's incredible to think that a little machine like this will actually go to the moon soon," said Lu Hui, who was among the crowd looking at the model rover.

"I think it's cute, kind of like WALL-E," she said, referring to the animated robot in the 2008 children's film of the same name.

China's official Xinhua News agency is hosting an online poll to select the rover's name, with "Seeking Dream" in the lead on more than 560,000 votes.

.


Related Links
The Chinese Space Program - News, Policy and Technology
China News from SinoDaily.com






Comment on this article via your Facebook, Yahoo, AOL, Hotmail login.

Share this article via these popular social media networks
del.icio.usdel.icio.us DiggDigg RedditReddit GoogleGoogle




Memory Foam Mattress Review
Newsletters :: SpaceDaily :: SpaceWar :: TerraDaily :: Energy Daily
XML Feeds :: Space News :: Earth News :: War News :: Solar Energy News



International Conference on Protection of Materials and Structures From Space Environment



DRAGON SPACE
China providing space training
Beijing (XNA) Nov 01, 2013
China is providing training for space professionals from developing economies, enhancing their capacity in satellite operations and space technology application. "Hundreds of space engineers and scientists from several countries including Pakistan and Nigeria have received training in China since 2005," Li Lan, deputy general manager of the communications satellite division of China Great ... read more


DRAGON SPACE
Space technologies boost disaster reduction int'l co-op

How to Manage Nature's Runaway Freight Trains

Uruguay to pull peacekeepers from Haiti: president

Storm-battered northern Europe slowly gets back to normal

DRAGON SPACE
A Better Way to Track Your Every Move

China's satellite navigation system to start oversea operation next year

Russia, US to protect satellite navigation systems at UN level

Russia Retires Faulty Glonass-M Satellite

DRAGON SPACE
Study: Humans made sophisticated stone tools earlier than thought

Did hard-wired fear of snakes drive evolution of human vision?

Hair regeneration method is first to induce new human hair growth

No known hominin is ancestor of Neanderthals and modern humans

DRAGON SPACE
CU-Boulder-led team gets first look at diverse life below rare tallgrass prairies

Chinese officials set 1,000 cats loose in forest: reports

Poacher shot dead in Zimbabwe game park

South African 'living stone' plant adapts to extreme conditions in new ways

DRAGON SPACE
Breakthrough in hunt for HIV vaccine

Poultry market closures do well to halt bird flu: study

SARS-like viruses can jump from bats to humans: study

The role of uncertainty in infectious disease modelling

DRAGON SPACE
Empty chair to represent China's Ai Weiwei at Sweden film fest

Google boss calls for 'freedom of speech' in China

Rural Chinese school 'demolished for $1.6 bn resort'

China vows to silence Dalai Lama in Tibet

DRAGON SPACE
Spain jails six Somalis for piracy

Pirates kidnap two American sailors off Nigeria

Seaman Guard owner to fight arrest of ship's crew in India

Somali pirates on trial for seizing French yacht

DRAGON SPACE
Walker's World: Breaking the banks

Asia manufacturing picks up but data points to headwinds

China GDP figures wrong by $610 billion: report

Researcher is optimistic about meeting 'Grand Challenge' of global prosperity




The content herein, unless otherwise known to be public domain, are Copyright 1995-2014 - Space Media Network. AFP, UPI and IANS news wire stories are copyright Agence France-Presse, United Press International and Indo-Asia News Service. ESA Portal Reports are copyright European Space Agency. All NASA sourced material is public domain. Additional copyrights may apply in whole or part to other bona fide parties. Advertising does not imply endorsement,agreement or approval of any opinions, statements or information provided by Space Media Network on any Web page published or hosted by Space Media Network. Privacy Statement