Milestones in China's space exploration
from 21st CenturyApril 24, 1970
China launched its first satellite, known as Dongfanghong I, to orbit the Earth on its own Long March 1 space rocket on April 24, 1970. This made China the fifth nation to launch a satellite.
Nov. 1975
In November 1975, the Long March 2 rocket carried China's first \"homing satellite\" into orbit. That made China the third nation capable of retrieving a satellite.
Sept. 1981
The pace of China's space industry picked up in the 1980s and 1990s. In September 1981, It successfully put three satellites into orbit with one rocket.
1999
In 1999, China launched and recovered an unmanned capsule designed to carry men and women into orbit in the 21st century.
Nov. 19, 1999
Shenzhou I was launched on November 19, 1999. It made 14 orbits around the Earth carrying a dummy astronaut, experimental seeds, commemorative stamps, national flags and a banner with signatures of participating engineers and scientists.
2001 and 2002
Shenzhou II, III and IV were launched during 2001 and 2002.
Oct. 15, 2003
Shenzhou V was launched on October 15, 2003, carrying one astronaut, Yang Liwei, on a 21.5 hour flight. This made China the third country to send a lone human into orbit, after Russia and the United States.
Oct. 12, 2005
Shenzhou VI was launched on October 12, 2005, carrying two men, Fei Junlong and Nie Haisheng, on a five-day flight 210 miles above the Earth.
Oct. 24, 2007-10-24
China is set to launch its first lunar orbiter on October 24, 2007, the first stage of its moon exploration project.
2010
China plans to undertake space-walking, build a spacecraft docking station and set up a space laboratory by 2010.
2017
The latter two stages of moon exploration project involve landing an unmanned lunar rover on the moon around 2012; and bringing back lunar soil and rock samples around 2017.
Chang'e I Mission
The lunar orbiter is expected to enter the Earth-moon transfer orbit on October 31; and the moon's orbit, 380,000 km from Earth, on November 5.
Objectives
* Drawing \"pictures\" of the moon and obtaining 3D images of the lunar surface. Making outline graphs of lunar geology and structures to provide a reference for later soft landings.
* Probing useful elements on the moon surface and analyzing the elements and materials. Making maps of the distribution of various elements on the moon's surface. Probing the features of lunar soil and evaluating its depth, as well as the amount of helium-3 resources.
* Probing the space environment and recording data on the primitive solar wind. Studying the impact of solar activity on the Earth and the moon.
Facts and figures
Chang'e I is only about 2.35 tons, lighter than a normal-sized elephant.
Its carrier rocket, Long March 3-A, is about 250 tons, about 100 times the weight of the Chang'e I satellite.
Long March 3-A is 52 meter in height, which is equal to a building with 17 storeys.
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dummy 模拟的，假的
docking (宇宙飞行器在轨道上)对接
commemorative 纪念的
orbit 轨道
primitive 原始的，远古的
soil 土壤
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