With the return of Chang'e-6 with samples from the back of the moon, China's aerospace science and technology level is once again presented in front of the eyes of countries around the world, and the Chang'e lunar exploration project, which is basically error-free, has naturally attracted more and more countries and scientific research organizations.
As the first project of the fourth phase of the mainland's lunar exploration project, Chang'e-6 has successfully completed its mission, and the countries and organizations cooperating with the mainland have tasted the sweetness, and the next Chang'e-7 and Chang'e-8 will continue to carry out international cooperation.
The cooperation object of Chang'e-8 has not yet been finalized, perhaps because countries around the world have realized that the opportunity is rare, and more than 30 countries and organizations have submitted applications for cooperation, which may also be beyond the expectations of the mainland.
What are the specific tasks to be completed by Chang'e-8? What criteria will the mainland use to determine the partners in the end?
China's lunar exploration program, which is progressing steadily
Many people don't actually understand China's overall lunar exploration program, but if you have a comprehensive understanding of the whole, you will understand why each of China's lunar exploration projects has been successful, and you will also understand China's ultimate goal of lunar exploration, as well as its vision for future space exploration.
The first step is to carry out a detailed exploration of the moon, the second step is to land materials and personnel on the moon, and the third step is to establish a scientific research base on the moon to realize the long-term activities of human beings on the moon.
The three stages of "orbiting, falling, and returning" that we are more familiar with are actually included in the first major stage, that is, the stage of "exploration", which has been fully completed, corresponding to the first three phases of China's Chang'e project, from the first step of lunar exploration, to the second step of lunar exploration, and then to the lunar sample return, the last mission of these three stages is that Chang'e-5 returns from lunar sampling.
Starting in 2022, the mainland has launched the fourth phase of lunar exploration, which is also the first step of the second major stage of "moon landing", in which the main tasks include Chang'e-6, 7, 8 and manned lunar landing projects, as well as the task of building and putting into use the basic version of the international lunar research station.
Generally speaking, the tasks of the second stage can be expressed in the words "exploration, construction, and use", first of all, it is necessary to conduct a comprehensive exploration of the lunar environment, geological conditions and other factors for the construction of scientific research stations, understand the true appearance of the moon in detail, and formulate a feasible plan for the construction of scientific research stations.
Then it is necessary to build a scientific research station on the moon, this step is actually the most difficult, basically all through the intelligent facilities on the moon automatic construction, by scientific research personnel on the earth for remote command, this step of the level of science and technology requirements are extremely high, do not rule out that there will be some unexpected situations in the middle, it is necessary to study and solve the problem in time.
When the scientific research station is completed, it will also go through test operation to verify the reliability and stability of the scientific research station and reach the conditions that can really work normally.
The third major stage is to send astronauts to the moon on business trips, stay on the moon permanently, and conduct more scientific research and experiments, so as to lay a solid foundation for mankind's follow-up deep space exploration, and at the same time rationalize the development and utilization of some resources of the moon.
At this stage, similar to the work plan of the continental space station, different astronauts will be scheduled to go to the moon for work rotation, and at that time, manned landings on the moon will become the norm.
It is precisely under such a rigorous, interlocking, and step-by-step plan that the mainland's lunar exploration program has been able to achieve continuous success, and it will never start the next stage of work until the work of the previous stage has been done solidly, still less will it develop by "leaps and bounds" on a whim.
More importantly, all the core technologies of lunar exploration on the mainland are in their own hands, and whether it is carrier rockets, relay satellites, lunar probes and various scientific research payloads, they can all be developed by their own strength, which gives the lunar exploration project a solid foundation.
In addition, the mainland's strong manufacturing capacity ensures that all kinds of materials can be put in place in good quality and quantity, and the system of concentrating resources to do great things has also enabled the mainland to concentrate on tackling some difficult problems and solve them thoroughly.
If they want to speed up the development of their own space scientific research, it is undoubtedly the best choice to catch China's express train, which is also the fundamental reason why more and more countries and organizations are willing to cooperate with China.
The door to international cooperation is always open
Since the 80s of the last century, the mainland has actively sought international cooperation and worked with other countries to develop our space industry.
However, at that time, the mainland's various technologies were far from reaching the leading level, so it mainly cooperated with European and American countries, which played a very good role in promoting the development of the mainland's aerospace industry.
In the 21 st century, the mainland's aerospace science and technology have developed rapidly and it has begun to cooperate with more countries, but with the change of the international political pattern, the United States has begun to suppress and contain the mainland at all levels, including the aerospace field, which has been increasingly politicized.
But this does not completely prevent other countries from cooperating with China, most notably European countries, which have long been under pressure from the United States but have never stopped cooperating in space.
Especially in the past 20 years, relying on the rapid development of the economy, China has continued to make breakthroughs in the field of aerospace, while Europe has slowed down significantly under the influence of many factors such as finance and war.
In 2016, the geomagnetic monitoring satellite jointly developed by China and Italy was successfully launched, and in 2020, the Sino-French cooperation ocean satellite was successfully launched, and just before the return of Chang'e-6, the astronomical satellite (SVOM) jointly developed by China and France over the past 20 years was also successfully launched into orbit.
Three of the four international payloads carried by Chang'e-6 are from Europe, which is actually very revealing, and ESA has discovered lunar negative ions for the first time in the world through this cooperation and obtained high-quality data, which is a real benefit for ESA.
However, the recent announcement by ESA that it will no longer participate in the China-led international lunar research station project, citing Russia's participation in the project, and last year's interruption of cooperation with the continental space station, the fundamental reason for all this is nothing more than that Europe is forced to side with the United States, and China has to accept this gradually forming space race pattern.
Therefore, China will focus more on cooperation with the BRICS countries and the Global South, among which Russia, Brazil, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia and other countries will become more and more important space partners for China.
Some people may ask, why do we have to participate in international cooperation, and with China's current level of science and technology, can't we conduct our own research in the field of aerospace? Yes, but if China does do so, it means that China has voluntarily given up its hard-won international influence and the right to speak in science and technology.
What the United States wants most is for China to be isolated and have no friends in the world, otherwise why would it put so much pressure on Europe to prevent them from cooperating with China? Please believe that what the United States is desperately trying to prevent must be the most important thing for China to do.
Therefore, China will never close the door to cooperation, on the contrary, it will use successful cases to attract more countries to cooperate with China, Chang'e-6 will carry 4 international payloads, Chang'e-7 will cooperate with 6 countries and an international scientific research organization, carry 6 international payloads.
As for Chang'e-8, since the announcement of cooperation opportunities by the China National Space Administration in 2023, more than 30 countries and organizations have submitted applications for cooperation.
The mission of Chang'e-8
The mainland will complete the preliminary selection of Chang'e-8 cooperation partners in April this year, and determine the final cooperation project in September, Chang'e-8 will provide 200 kilograms of mass resources, which can carry the payloads of other countries, so the projects of these more than 30 countries and organizations will be fiercely competitive.
Chang'e-8, consisting of a lander, a lunar rover and an intelligent lunar robot, will be launched in 2028, and the most important task is to build a basic version of the lunar research station with Chang'e-7.
In order to complete this mission, Chang'e-8 will conduct multi-physics exploration and research on the moon, explore the geological profile of the lunar region, complete the moon-based atmospheric energy balance and macroscopic observation of the earth's magnetosphere, and will also use local materials to carry out experimental verification of the utilization of lunar resources, and build a small closed terrestrial ecosystem in the lunar surface environment.
To put it simply, Chang'e-8 will cooperate with Chang'e-7 to basically complete the preparations for the construction of a lunar scientific research station, which will be the most difficult lunar exploration project undertaken by the mainland, and naturally, its scientific and technological level will also reach a new height.
At present, Chang'e-8 plans to carry 14 of the mainland's own payloads, and there are corresponding conditions for international payloads that want to cooperate, at least to meet the technical requirements of the system level or single machine.
The so-called system level means that these payloads should be integrated with Chang'e-8's interfaces, cables, separation and release devices and other systems, and can be separated from the lander after arriving on the moon and work independently. Stand-alone payloads can be carried on the lander platform.
The mainland has also given priority to cooperation, such as payloads that can interact with the Chang'e-8 launcher and joint exploration missions, or highly intelligent lunar robots, as well as projects that are complementary to China's payloads, as well as projects with strong innovation, can be prioritized.
It is precisely because the Chang'e-8 project has unprecedented scientific research value for lunar exploration that as long as countries around the world have this ability, how can they not be tempted? But after all, the load that can be carried is limited, and the mainland can only choose the project that best meets the requirements for cooperation.
This kind of situation is not something that a certain country can stop if it wants to, and in the face of absolute strength, all "careful thinking" can only be reduced to a joke in the end.
The continent plans to build an expanded lunar research station around 2045, when mankind will truly have its own home in outer space, and by that time, China must have developed a more complete exploration plan for Mars and Jupiter.
Resources:
China National Space Administration: Announcement on International Cooperation Opportunities for Chang'e-8 Mission
CNR: "The mainland will establish a long-term lunar research station, what are the tasks worth paying attention to in the fourth phase of the lunar exploration project?" 》
Xinhua News Agency: Chang'e-8 has received more than 30 applications for international cooperation
Shangguan News: "Chang'e 6, 7 and 8 each have their own tasks, and the chief engineer of China's lunar exploration project reveals important information"
The Paper: "Chang'e-8 is planned to be launched around 2028, and Chang'e-7 and others will form the basic type of lunar scientific research station"