Foreword: Human beings have a long history of looking up at the starry sky, from the simple observation of the sun, moon and stars by ancient sages to the fact that we have launched probes to try to uncover the mystery of the universe, and mankind's desire for the unknown has never stopped.
Deep space exploration, as an important way to explore the mysteries of the universe, search for extraterrestrial life, and expand the living space of human beings, has long become a stage for countries around the world to demonstrate their scientific and technological strength and pursue national honor.
In this space race without gunpowder, China, the United States, and India, as the three major forces in the world's aerospace field, have each chosen different development paths and demonstrated their unique technological strength and strategic vision.
This space race seems to have just begun!
American probes
You may not believe it, it's 2024, a probe launched in the 70s of the last century, can still send data to the earth normally, this is the real situation of the "Voyager 1" built by NASA in the United States.
It is already the farthest artificial satellite from the earth, 24.37 billion kilometers away from the earth, witnessing the Cold War between the United States and the Soviet Union, witnessing the rise of the new century, and is still in the stars.
The success of Voyager 1 is of course inseparable from the Cold War between the United States and the Soviet Union, and the world pattern has undergone earth-shaking changes after World War II, with differences between capitalism dominated by the United States and socialism dominated by the Soviet Union, constituting a bipolar world pattern.
The two superpowers began to compete for hegemony with only one of them, and they all knew that bullets were no longer suitable for that era, but there was one area that was suitable for the situation at that time.
In 1955, the Soviet Union first proposed the idea of artificial satellites, and in 1957, mankind's first artificial satellite - Sputnik 1 was successfully launched.
And the United States is not far behind, and the year after the Soviet Union launched Sputnik, the United States also launched its first artificial satellite, the Explorer satellite, and established NASA, the American space agency, in the same year.
After that, the United States and the Soviet Union fought for space hegemony more frequently, and the Soviet Union became the first country in human history to send humans into space in 1961, and after that, the Soviet Union gradually took over the baton of space leader.
The United States began to set its sights on the moon, and landed on the moon in 1969, since then, coupled with the blessing of the United States' "money ability" that year, in 1977, NASA developed an unmanned outer space probe - Voyager 1 successfully launched.
Coincidentally, Voyager 1 coincided with a once-in-a-century voyage arrangement, and the spacecraft only needed a small amount of fuel to correct its course after launch, and the rest of the time it was able to accelerate with the gravitational pull of the planets.
In addition, Voyager 1 is inseparable from the uniqueness of the United States in probe technology, which carries a radioisotope thermoelectric generator, which can convert the heat energy generated by the decay of radioactive elements into electricity, so that it can work in space for a long time.
In 2011, Voyager 1 reached the final junction of the solar system and interstellar space, and according to scientists, the nuclear battery on Voyager 1 may continue to fly until 2025, but it will not return to Earth's arms in the future.
Indian probe
As early as 1963, India built the first rocket launch pad and successfully launched the first sounding rocket.
In 2011, the failure of the continent's first Mars rover, Firefly-1, led India to speed up their Mars exploration program and launch the Mangarian Mars rover in 2013.
It has to be said that Mangarion did make India the first Asian country to explore Mars in Manhecheng at that time, and before October 2013, only the United States, Russia and the European Union had successfully carried out Mars exploration missions in the world.
In 2014, India's Mangarion entered orbit around Mars, operating normally about 500 kilometers from the Martian surface and 215 million kilometers from Earth, but then Mangarion ran out of signal after eight years.
Today, India has always wanted to catch up with and surpass countries such as China and the United States, but if it wants to catch up, India still has a long way to go, and if it wants to make a difference in the field of aerospace, India still has to be down-to-earth and take it step by step.
Chinese detectors
Since the launch of the first artificial satellite in the 70s of the last century, China's aerospace has been soaring, creating one miracle after another, especially since the beginning of the 21st century, China's aerospace has entered the fast lane of development.
From the "Shenzhou" manned spacecraft to China's Tiangong space station, from the "Chang'e" probe landing on the moon to the "Tianwen" probe landing on Mars, the Chinese astronauts have achieved a magnificent transformation from "chaser" to "parallel runner" and then to "leader" step by step.
On October 1, 2010, the mainland successfully launched the Chang'e-2 probe, and on April 1, 2011, the Chang'e-2 mission was successfully completed, but Chang'e-2 soon received a new mission - to continue to fly farther into space.
On June 9, Chang'e-2 took off from the moon and headed for the Sun-Earth Lagrange L2 orbit 1.5 million kilometers away, and successfully entered the established orbit on August 25.
It marks that the continent has become the third country in the world to enter the Sun-Earth Lagrange L2 point, and it is also the first country in the world to achieve the Sun-Earth Lagrange L2 point from the moon.
In 2012, Chang'e-2 began to change its orbit and enter the asteroid's transfer orbit, and by 2014, Chang'e-2 had flown 100 million kilometers away from Earth.
Unlike Voyager 1 in the United States, Chang'e-2 is expected to return to Earth in 2029.
Chang'e-2 not only demonstrates the breakthrough of China's aerospace technology, but also embodies the pragmatic spirit of China's astronauts, which is also the key to the success of China's aerospace industry.
Unlike other countries, China's aerospace has always adhered to the road of "independent innovation and independent development", and does not blindly pursue "high" projects.
conclusion
From the myth and legend of "Chang'e to the moon", to the brave attempt of "ten thousand households flying to the sky", to the current probe flying to all corners of the solar system, human exploration of the universe has never stopped.
On the road of exploring the universe, each country has its own advantages and disadvantages, and in the future, the space competition between countries will be more intense, but the cooperation will also be closer.
Deep space exploration is not only an adventure to satisfy human curiosity, but also a great journey to promote scientific and technological progress and promote the development of human civilization.
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