Chinese space program

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NASA Chief: China Is Hiding Its Military Goals in Space

'We believe that a lot of their so-called civilian space program is a military program'

(Newser) - NASA Administrator Bill Nelson warned lawmakers about China's space program as he made his pitch for the agency's 2025 budget Wednesday. Nelson said China was using its civilian program to mask its military presence in space, AFP reports. "We believe that a lot of their so-called civilian...

There's a Space Race On, and China Could Win It

'We better watch out,' says NASA Administrator Bill Nelson

(Newser) - "It is a fact: We're in a space race," NASA Administrator Bill Nelson told Politico in a recent interview. And it's not just about politics and bragging rights—there are both national security and practical implications, according to many US officials. "We better watch out...

China Slams America's 'Dirty Record' in Space

Officials reject NASA chief's accusation that China is trying to take over the moon

(Newser) - China has angrily fired back at NASA Administrator Bill Nelson's criticism of its space program, denying that it is planning to take over the moon. In an interview with Germany's Bild newspaper published Saturday, Nelson said, "We must be very concerned about China landing on the moon...

Double Crater on Moon Left by Space Junk Puzzles NASA

Debris has hit the surface before but never caused a dual crater

(Newser) - Astronomers knew a hunk of debris from an unknown spacecraft was going to slam into the far side of the moon in March, so they got plenty of before-and-after photographs of the surface. Software usually compares the photos, looking for what's changed to tell where the object hit, the...

China Gambles, Wins With Massive Rocket Re-Entry

Long March 5B burned up over the Maldives

(Newser) - China's space agency said a core segment of its biggest rocket reentered Earth’s atmosphere above the Maldives in the Indian Ocean and that most of it burned up early Sunday, per the AP . Harvard astrophysicist Jonathan McDowell, who tracked the tumbling rocket part, said on Twitter, “An...

China's Rocket Debris Set for Uncontrolled Re-Entry

21-ton Long March rocket core will crash at an unknown location within days

(Newser) - Last week's launch of the Tianhe space station module was a great leap forward for China's space program—but the Long March 5B rocket used for the launch could cause some major problems back on Earth. The 21-ton core of the rocket is now orbiting Earth and slowly...

Barred From the ISS, China Launches Own Space Station

Beijing aims to complete Tiangong in 2022

(Newser) - With potential retirement looming for the International Space Station, Russia says it plans to launch its own space station by 2030, but China is edging ahead in the space race: The country launched the main part of its new space station on Thursday. The Tianhe—"Heavenly Harmony"—module...

China Just Made History on the Moon

Craft lands on the far side of the moon, the first to do so

(Newser) - A Chinese spacecraft on Thursday made the first-ever landing on the far side of the moon, state media said. The lunar explorer Chang'e 4 touched down at 10:26am, China Central Television said during its noon broadcast. The far side of the moon faces away from Earth and is...

Defunct Space Station Due to Fall to Earth This Weekend

Tiangong-1 is believed to be out of control

(Newser) - China's defunct and reportedly out-of-control Tiangong 1 space station is expected to re-enter Earth's atmosphere sometime this weekend. It poses only a slight risk to people and property on the ground, since most of the bus-size, 8.5-ton vehicle is expected to burn up on re-entry, although space...

China's Moon Rover 'Back From the Dead'

Jade Rabbit survives lunar night

(Newser) - Zombie on the moon: China's Jade Rabbit lunar rover has shown signs of life despite earlier reports that it had died following mechanical difficulties in the extreme cold of the lunar night. The rover—which signed off with the ominous words "Goodnight humanity" at the end of January—...

China's Moon Lander May Die in Lunar Night

Jade Rabbit hits snag thanks to 'complicated lunar surface'

(Newser) - China's moon rover Jade Rabbit has "experienced a mechanical control abnormality" that might scuttle its mission entirely. The problem came due to the "complicated lunar environment," the state-run Xinhua news service reported on Saturday, just before the rover went into sleep mode for the lunar night....

China's Shenzhou-9 Returns to Earth

13-day mission a major success for Chinese space program

(Newser) - China's Shenzhou-9 spacecraft has landed safely in Inner Mongolia, ending a 13-day mission hailed as a major leap forward for the country's space program. On China's fourth manned space mission since 2003, the Shenzhou-9 completed a docking test vital to the country's goal of building a...

China Launches Space Lab to America the Beautiful

Broadcaster blunders at Tiangong-1 launch

(Newser) - Weird. China took its first step toward building a space station last night and while the launch of the unmanned Tiangong-1 space lab went smoothly, there was a major slip-up in the propaganda department. State broadcaster CCTV's launch coverage included an animation of the module docking with a crew...

257 Days Later, Astronauts 'Land' on Mars

No one's quit after months in the pod

(Newser) - A team of researchers has finally arrived on Mars after a 257-day flight —none of which was real. Six men from across the globe spent 257 days locked in a 12-by-20-foot steel capsule in Moscow, simulating the experience of traveling to the planet, the Daily Mail reports. They’ll...

China Launches 1st Lunar Probe
China Launches 1st Lunar Probe
Oct 24, 2007 12:46 PM CDT

China Launches 1st Lunar Probe

Plans to land astronaut on lunar surface by 2020

(Newser) - China launched its first lunar mission today, beginning its gambit to be the third country to put a man in space. The Chang'e-I probe fired into space unmanned, but the lunar orbiter should earn China’s space program respect—and lucrative contracts, Bloomberg reports. China next plans to land a...

15 Stories