Taipei, Taiwan (AP) — China unveiled its plans on Wednesday to launch a cutting-edge telescope aimed at exploring the vast depths of the universe. This announcement coincided with the imminent departure of China’s next three-member crew for its orbiting space station.
The telescope, known as Xuntian, will be deployed alongside China’s Tiangong space station and will operate in tandem with it, according to Lin Xiqiang, spokesperson and deputy director general of the Chinese Manned Space Agency.
No specific timeframe has been provided for the installation. China’s state broadcaster CCTV reported that the telescope will enable comprehensive surveys and mapping of the celestial sky.
China has a rich history of studying the movement of heavenly bodies over thousands of years. In recent times, it has made significant strides in space exploration and scientific discovery, aspiring to become a world leader in this domain.
This announcement came on the eve of the departure of three astronauts—Tang Hongbo, Tang Shengjie, and Jiang Xinlin—who are set to replace the current crew that has been on the space station for the past six months.
The launch is scheduled for late morning on Thursday. Tang Hongbo is an experienced astronaut who led a three-month space mission in 2021.
China has achieved remarkable progress in its burgeoning space program and intends to undertake a crewed mission to the moon by the end of the decade, while simultaneously pursuing other ambitious space initiatives.
While its space program competes with that of the United States, China also seeks international collaboration and support from countries in Europe, Southeast Asia, South America, and beyond.
Due to concerns over control by the People’s Liberation Army, China developed its own space station after being excluded from the International Space Station, a project primarily dominated by the United States.
In 2003, China became the third country, after the former Soviet Union and the U.S., to independently send a manned mission into space.
Currently, the United States retains a significant advantage over China in terms of expenditure, supply chains, and capabilities. However, China has achieved breakthroughs in specific areas, such as retrieving lunar samples after decades and successfully landing a rover on the unexplored far side of the moon.
Meanwhile, the U.S. plans to return astronauts to the lunar surface by the end of 2025, supported by private sector players like SpaceX and Blue Origin, as part of their renewed commitment to crewed missions.
In addition to lunar exploration, both countries have separately landed rovers on Mars, and China intends to follow the footsteps of the United States by landing a spacecraft on an asteroid.
The new crew of the space station will also need to conduct maintenance on its solar panels, which have suffered damage from debris within the solar system, as reported by the official Xinhua News Agency.
A significant number of these space particles were generated by China itself during the deliberate destruction of one of its satellites using a missile in 2007. This demonstration of strength was intended to send a powerful message to competitors in the U.S. and its allies.
