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Wenchang space launch site on Hainan Island, the southernmost part of China. The unmanned lunar probe, Changeo 5, launched on the 24th of last month from here managed to collect 2 kg of rocks and soil from the moon. It is the third achievement after the United States and the former Soviet Union. China is excited about the news that Changeo 5 will return to Earth on the 17th with samples from the lunar surface.
China has entered lunar orbit one after another after announcing ‘Project Changfish’, a lunar exploration plan in 2003. In January of last year, Changeo 4 landed on the back of the moon for the first time in humanity. and surprised the world. In July this year, it even launched a probe to Mars. In 2022, the ‘Tiangung’ space station was completed, and in 2025, a manned base was built on the moon. You have four space launch bases required for this.
Japan launched the lunar probe, Hiten, in 1990, ahead of China. There are five space centers, including Tanegashima in Kagoshima prefecture. Through the construction of an international space station, cooperation with other countries has also increased. It is also thanks to this that Soichi Noguchi, the only Asian aviator, was able to assemble the first manned spacecraft sent by SpaceX to the United States last month.
The field where Japan excels is asteroid exploration. Hayabusa 2, which left Tanegashima in 2014, collected 0.1 g of soil from the asteroid Ryugu, 340 million kilometers from Earth, and sent it to Earth yesterday. Hayabusa 2 will fly 10 billion more kilometers over the next 11 years and show “the flesh of the universe” one by one.
The Korean scientific community is saddened by the news from China and Japan space that is delivered day after day. We are still in the satellite phase around the Earth. The launch plan for the lunar orbit has been postponed from 2018 to 2022. The lander was also delayed until 2030. A probe is sent to Mars to the United Arab Emirates, arriving late, and the schedule changes like a rubber band depending on the scheme, and the person in charge changes every one or two years.
The moon and space planets are rich in natural resources. It is also of great military importance. The United States created the ‘Space Force’ last year, and Japan this year created the ‘Space Operations Corps’. The space industry trend is also shifting from the government-centric “old space” to a private sector-centric “new space.” Private companies are also becoming partners in investing in innovation.
Above all, there are dreams of the future in the universe. Children dream of seeing the stars. “Raise your eyes and look up at the sky,” said Elon Musk, who raised SpaceX. Physical genius Stephen Hawking also said: “Don’t look at your feet, lift your eyes to see the stars.”
Editorial Writer Ko Doo-hyun [email protected]
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