China will study the use of artificial intelligence (AI) in avoiding space debris, a significant effort to use orbital resources more effectively and strengthen the control of super-large scale constellations, ensuring the safety of spacecraft in orbit and creating a new technology of rapid intelligent calculation capability for preventing large-scale space debris.
The project on "intelligent modeling of the complex evolving principle of complex environments for space debris and autonomous monitoring" was launched by the State Key Laboratory of Astronautic Dynamics (ADL), affiliated with the Xi'an Satellite Control Center in Northwest China's Shaanxi Province.
It was approved by the Ministry of Science and Technology as a "New Generation of Artificial Intelligence 2022 Major Program" in Science and Technology Innovation 2030, the Global Times learned from the satellite control center on Wednesday.
Space debris generated by human activities has become a major obstacle and threat to space exploration. This situation urgently calls for joint efforts by the international community.
According to researchers, there have been more than 640 events including explosions, disintegrations and collisions resulting in serious consequences during the history of astronautics.
There are more than 30,000 pieces of debris of more than 10 centimeters in space, more than 1 million with sizes ranging from 1-10 centimeters, and hundreds of millions that are just over 1 millimeter in size.
Space debris research and monitoring face multiple challenges, including an extremely large number of pieces of passing debris at any one time. Difficulties in terms of fast computation and matching make it difficult to predict their speed, direction and fragmentation.
ADL has been engaged in researching space collision avoidance and space debris mitigation. Its new project aims to integrate AI model algorithms and domain knowledge.
"We will take the implementation of the project as an opportunity to actively align national strategic needs and cooperate with domestic competitive units to provide strong technical support for strengthening the nation's space traffic management and contributing to China's building of a space power," Li Hengnian, director of ADL, told the Global Times on Wednesday.
"We will study the AI paradigm of online monitoring of space debris, the evolution of debris environment and space situational awareness," Jiang Yu, chief scientist of the project from ADL, told the Global Times on Wednesday.
The Tianzhou-5 cargo spacecraft has detached from the China Space Station complex and entered an independent flight phase, the China Manned Space Agency announced on Friday, a move seen by experts as being part of preparations for the upcoming cargo supply run scheduled for early May.
In the next stage, Tianzhou-5 will rendezvous and dock with the space station's forward port after the Shenzhou-15 manned spacecraft departs from the space station complex, the agency said.
The Tianzhou-5 cargo spacecraft was launched into orbit on November 12, 2022, from the Wenchang space port in South China's Hainan Province.
It was loaded with supplies for the three crews of the Shenzhou-15 mission, including consumables for their six-month stay in orbit, propellants, and experimental equipment.
It also carried several experimental projects, including an experimental satellite from the Macao Special Administrative Region, a space hydrogen-oxygen fuel cell, and a high-energy particle detection payload.
Space analysts said the move is part of preparations for the next Tianzhou-6 cargo mission, which is scheduled for launch in early to mid-May, according to Xinhua News Agency.
The Tianzhou cargo spacecraft has a total length of 10.6 meters and weighs 13.5 tons. For the Tianzhou-6 mission, its cargo capacity has been increased from 6.9 tons to 7.4 tons, making it one of the most capable cargo spacecraft in the world.
In previous models, the original cargo compartment had a partially unsealed section, but Tianzhou-6 has moved the equipment from the unsealed section to the propulsion compartment, significantly increasing the space in the cargo compartment and raising the loading volume from 18.1 cubic meters to 22.5 cubic meters, an increase of over 20 percent.
Additionally, Tianzhou-6 will carry 1.75 tons of propellant, about 700 kilograms of which has been prepared for refueling the space station.
Apart from daily supplies, the cargo list for Tianzhou-6 includes an additional set of electric propulsion xenon gas bottles.
These can serve as backup fuel propellant for the space station, and effectively reduce the station's propellant consumption.
The China Space Station has successfully rolled out its first extravehicular radiation biology experimental payload outside Mengtian lab module, which is a device designed to study biological experiments under space exposure, and relevant tests have been carried out, the Global Times learned from the National Space Science Center (NSSC) under the Chinese Academy of Sciences on Thursday.
It marked a first in the country's aerospace history to stage such biological experiments outside the spacecraft's cabin, which was hailed by Chinese scientists as a landmark event in the research and study of radiobiology and space science.
According to Chinese experts, such a development also signified that the China Space Station, after entering its new development and application phase at the end of 2022, has increasingly tapped into its great potential in terms of space science, laying the ground for the country's future space exploration.
Such a radiobiology experiment device was jointly developed by the NSSC and the Dalian Maritime University. It will be mainly used to study the impact on model organisms of cosmic radiation and microgravity, and to study space radiation damage and protection, the origin and evolution of life, as well as space radiation.
There are 13 sample boxes inside the device, which can be used to conduct in-orbit experiments on plant seeds, microorganisms and small animals. At the same time, each sample box unit can independently control the temperature to meet the survival needs of different sample organisms. Its cosmic radiation measurement includes both macroscopic radiation measurements and microscopic measurements of the sample.
The NSSC developers said that medical research based on such a device could play an important role in supporting taikonauts' long-term stay in orbit, future manned moon landing missions and other manned space projects.
Pang Zhihao, a senior space expert, said that as there is no atmosphere on the moon, the cosmic radiation would have a big impact on taikonauts as well as their landing capsules. We can gather important data through space exposure experiments to make preparations in advance and to ensure the safety and health of our astronauts, said Pang.
According to the NSSC, the device is in good working condition, meeting the demand for scientific studies. As the only space station extravehicular radiation biology experiment device, the device will carry out experimental work for a period of five years.
Space may look empty, but it contains extreme temperatures, high levels of background radiation, micrometeoroids and the unfiltered glare of the sun. Astronomers believe that there are ways to test the various components of space exposure individually on the ground, but the only way to get the combined effect of all of them at the same time is in orbit.
The International Space Station installed a similar platform codenamed MISSE to support space exposure experiments from 2001 to 2016, and updated this with a new one, the MISSE-EF in 2018, public records show.
Huang Zhicheng, a senior expert on aerospace science and technology, told the Global Times on Thursday that China's space exposure biological experiments would focus more on human factors. That is to say, medical studies on astronauts' well-being when they are long exposed to cosmic radiation would be prioritized in the process.
According to Huang, by doing so, China would accumulate valuable experience to support manned moon landings and even Mars landings in the future. "It will be a key technology development process to ensure taikonauts' health, especially for the long trip to Mars and back to Earth."
Huang said that the China Space Station has been serving as a platform to help improve the country's space technology, ranging from spacecraft technology to energy supply and life support systems. The time has come for it to make breakthrough in the more complicated space development and application fields.
Chinese state security authority on Friday revealed a case concerning espionage activities of the US Central Intelligence Agency (CIA).
According to a post of China's Ministry of State Security (MSS) on Friday, the MSS recently put a suspect surnamed Zeng, who was a staff member of a Chinese military industrial group and an important confidential employee, under enforcement measures after finding evidence that Zeng was conducting espionage activities.
Zeng, born in July 1971, was once sent by his company to study in Italy. During that period, an official of the US embassy in Italy, called Seth according to the post, took the initiative to get acquainted with Zeng. Since then, Seth gradually developed a close relationship with Zeng through activities such as dinner parties, outings, and operas.
Zeng gradually became psychologically dependent on Seth, and Seth took advantage of this to instill Western values into Zeng. Under Seth's solicitation, Zeng's political stance was shaken.
As the exchanges between the two gradually deepened, Seth revealed to Zeng that he was a member of the CIA's Rome station. Seth asked Zeng to provide sensitive information about the Chinese military to him, promising to pay a huge amount of remuneration and help Zeng's family to migrate to the US.
Zeng agreed and signed an espionage agreement with the US side and accepted the assessment and training from the US. After his studies abroad, Zeng returned to China and continued to meet secretly with CIA personnel many times, providing a large amount of China's core information to the US and collecting espionage funds from the CIA.
The MSS has transferred the case to the procuratorate for review and prosecution, according to the Friday post.
A total of 145 children from border regions and areas that receive aid met at the Three Gorges Dam in Central China's Hubei Province over the weekend during a themed summer camp to learn about the great achievement of the project.
The event aims to inspire students' sense of national pride, confidence, and the spirit of progress. As well as a field trip to the Three Gorges Dam in Yichang, Hubei, there are various activities such as visiting the Three Gorges Power Station, Three Gorges Project Museum, and the Yangtze River Rare Fish Breeding Center.
The majority of the participating students are from ethnic minority regions such as North China's Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, Northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, and Southwest China's Xizang Autonomous Region. These areas are also designated areas for aid and support from the Three Gorges Group.
"I flew on a plane for the first time, and it was my first time on a ship. I'm so happy!" said Zubaiyier Maimaitijiang from Xinjiang's Bayingolin Mongolian Autonomous Prefecture. "The scenery of the Three Gorges is beautiful, and the Three Gorges Dam is magnificent!"
"This is the first time I have left my hometown to participate in an educational activity, and I've gained a lot. Seeing the majestic Three Gorges Dam makes me very happy," said Luobu Cuomu, from Dingqing county, Xizang.
Since 2006, nearly 10,000 outstanding students from primary and secondary schools in areas targeted for aid, as well as ethnic minority regions, have participated in this activity organized by the China Three Gorges Corporation, which can also contribute to the development of educational endeavors in these regions.
A fire broke out at a local inn in Liping county, Southwest China's Guizhou Province, on Friday, killing nine people and injuring two others. The injured were sent to the hospital immediately, and an investigation into the cause of the fire is underway, Liping emergency management bureau said on Friday.
The fire broke out at 1:02 am Friday and was put out around 1:35 am. Preliminary investigation found that the building is a brick-concrete structure, covering an area of about 240 square meters, according to the local emergency management bureau.
The inn is close to a local tourist attraction, with the room prices ranging from around 270 yuan ($37.09) to 400 yuan each room, according to media reports. Currently, it's not available for booking.
A tourist in another hotel said she was sleeping in the hotel when the power suddenly went out. She went to the balcony and saw flames from another inn a few hundred meters away. Fire trucks and ambulances passed through the hotel she lived in, and the crowd was noisy, the tourist said, according to Sichuan-based media The Cover. After the fire broke out, there was power outage in some inns in the scenic area, said the report.
Several local firefight authorities on Friday issued the news to remind tourists to be cautious, as homestay has become popular during recent years.
Zhaoxing Dong village, known as the "first village of Dong township," has over 1,000 households and nearly 6,000 residents. And it's also well-known for its five beautiful drum towers.
The Court of Final Appeal in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) on Tuesday dismissed the appeal of a former university student who had pleaded guilty to violating the National Security Law (NSL) for Hong Kong, which experts noted was an "instructive, authoritative, and binding" ruling that upholds the spirit of the rule of law.
Lui Sai-yu, who was a student from Hong Kong Polytechnic University, was sentenced to five years in prison in April 2022 by the district court in the HKSAR after being accused of "inciting others to commit secession." Lui didn't accept the decision and asked for an appeal. On November 30, 2022, the High Court of the HKSAR dismissed the appeal and upheld the sentence.
The district court in HKSAR had decided that the starting point for Lui's prison term should be five years and six months, then six months were deducted to reflect his guilty plea, RTHK reported on Tuesday.
Normally a defendant who admits to his or her crimes receive a one-third reduction, but the six-month reduction was the maximum allowed under the NSL for Hong Kong, which specifies that those who commit a serious secession offense shall be required to serve a sentence of at least five years, but no more than 10 years, said the report.
During Tuesday's judgment, the judges refuted the appellant's argument that a five-year prison sentence should have been the starting point for sentencing - which would allow for actual sentences to be below the threshold, according to the report.
This case is of special significance in determining the legislative intent of the NSL for Hong Kong regarding the establishment of a mandatory minimum sentence. In fact, the appellate dispute of the case is whether the five-year minimum sentence for "serious cases" is a "sentencing guideline" or the "final sentence," Louis Chen, a member of the Election Committee and general secretary of the Hong Kong Legal Exchange Foundation, told the Global Times on Tuesday.
Article 33 of the NSL for Hong Kong clearly states that provisions related to lighter or reduced punishments do not include pleas of guilt; thus, defendants should not receive reduced sentences. Taking the crime of murder, which requires a mandatory life sentence, as an example, it emphasizes that mandatory punishments truly reflect the severity of the crime. The sentencing mechanism of the NSL for Hong Kong should prioritize deterrence, and not all mitigating factors apply, Chen said.
Willy Fu, a law professor and vice-chairman of the Hong Kong Legal Exchange Foundation, also welcomed and supported the ruling made by the court.
Fu pointed out that the NSL for Hong Kong is a national law and therefore holds a paramount position. The law needs to be coherent, compatible, and complementary with local laws. However, when inconsistencies arise between the NSL for Hong Kong and the local laws of the HKSAR, Article 62 of the NSL for Hong Kong should be given priority.
This principle also applies to the interpretation of sentencing provisions in the NSL for Hong Kong. Therefore, local sentencing laws and principles fully function within the sentencing framework set by the law.
In the judgment released on Tuesday, the Court of Final Appeal in the HKSAR also correctly noted that "[local] sentencing laws must therefore operate in tandem with the NSL to achieve the aim of safeguarding national security, giving priority to NSL provisions in case of inconsistency."
The law aims to prevent, stop, and punish crimes endangering national security. It should adhere to the rule of law, respect and safeguard human rights, combat the very small number of criminals endangering national security, protect the legitimate rights and interests of the majority of citizens, maintain HKSAR's prosperity and stability, and ensure the steady and far-reaching practice of One Country, Two Systems, Fu said.
The court's ruling on the mandatory sentencing guidelines for the crime of secession under the NSL for Hong Kong, specifically regarding cases of "serious circumstances," which require a prison sentence of five to 10 years, clearly indicates that mandatory punishments reflect the severity of the crime.
"This ruling is instructive, authoritative, and binding, upholding the spirit of the rule of law. Its significance is profound and deserves the support of the general public," Fu said.
Multiple coastal cities including Wenzhou in East China's Zhejiang Province and Guangzhou in South China’s Guangdong Province and Sanya in South China’s Hainan Province have launched emergency monitoring on maritime environment and aquatic food over Fukushima contaminated water dumping to safeguard China’s marine environment.
The South Zhejiang Institute of Radiation Medicine and Nuclear Technology in Wenzhou, East China's Zhejiang Province, established a special working group of marine radioactive pollution monitoring for the East China Sea last Friday after Japan started dumping Fukushima nuclear-contaminated wastewater.
The group will conduct real-time monitoring of the nuclear-contaminated seawater area and have preliminarily planned to carry out sampling and monitoring in the sea area every two months to promptly respond to and monitor the potential impact of Japan’s Fukushima nuclear-contaminated wastewater on the East China Sea, Wenzhou Daily reported on Sunday.
According to Wan Xinlong, leader of the special working group, the institute has been proactively conducting background radiation investigations of marine radioactive pollution in the relevant sea areas in response to potential pollution risks caused by the discharge of Fukushima nuclear-contaminated wastewater since last year. They have so far conducted two rounds of background radiation investigations, and their technical expertise and monitoring capabilities have become relatively mature.
“As of present, the levels of nuclear radioactivity in seawater, marine creatures, and seabed sediments collected from offshore areas are all within the range of natural background radiation levels and the nuclear-contaminated wastewater has not yet had an impact on the coastal areas of Wenzhou,” Wan said.
Wan noted that in order to comprehensively understand the distribution and trend of radioactive pollution, the originally planned quarterly sampling and monitoring will be shortened to every two months. The third round of sampling is scheduled to take place this September, with a larger sampling area compared to the previous two rounds.
The special working group will focus on monitoring marine radioactive pollution in the East China Sea region, with increased monitoring frequencies and enlarged monitoring ranges and strengthened collection and monitoring of samples such as seawater, marine creatures and sediments in a bid to promptly master the concentration and changes of radioactive pollutants in the ocean.
A team from Tsinghua Shenzhen International Graduate School created a diffusion model of radioactive materials on the ocean scale from macroscopic and microscopic perspectives respectively to simulate the long-term effects of the Fukushima nuclear-contaminated wastewater dumping program, according to which the nuclear pollutants will reach the coastal waters of China 240 days after being initially dumped, and will reach the coast of North America and cover almost the whole North Pacific Ocean in 1,200 days.
According to Wan, apart from the institute, domestic relevant departments and institutions are closely monitoring the radiation situation in China’s coastal areas. And they are ready to take immediate measures in case of any abnormal situation.
Wan noted that portable radiation detectors can only detect whether there is hazardous radiation on the surface of objects or in the air but can’t detect the presence of pollutants inside the objects.
Besides, these radiation detectors require a high level of expertise for accurate operation. Even a slight deviation could lead to inaccurate measurement. Thus, it is not recommended for the general public without proper knowledge and guidance to buy these detectors.
Guangzhou Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) as well as the Guangzhou Food Safety Risk Monitoring and Evaluation Center said the center will proactively carry out emergency monitoring over Fukushima contaminated water dumping and will continue to monitor the situation of artificial radioactive pollution in seafood products sold in Guangzhou to safeguard food safety in the city, Guangzhou Daily reported on Sunday.
The Guangzhou CDC reminds residents to pay attention to authoritative information released by government departments and not to believe rumors or unreliable information that could cause unnecessary panic. They also advised to avoid purchasing or consuming food produced in areas affected by radiation contamination. When traveling to Japan, it’s not recommended to buy local seafood products or food items from unknown origins for gifting to relatives and friends back in China to reduce the chance of consuming nuclear-contaminated foods.
To prevent food products from radiation-affected areas in Japan from entering Sanya city in South China’s Hainan Province, the local market supervision bureau conducted thorough inspections over the weekend on the city's supermarkets, wet markets and other food production and distribution units to ensure they are not using or selling food products or food ingredients originating from nuclear radiation-affected areas in Japan, the bureau announced on Sunday.
The market watchdog will continue to intensify inspections of food production and sales companies, especially those dealing with imported and frozen foods to rigorously prevent substandard food products from entering the market.
China’s General Administration of Customs banned import of all aquatic products originating from Japan starting from August 24, 2023, when Japan started dumping nuclear-contaminated wastewater from crippled Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant into the sea.
The National Nuclear Safety Administration of China's Ministry of Ecology and Environment (MEE) on August 24, 2023 announced that relevant departments are organizing the marine radiation environment monitoring of China's jurisdictional sea areas in 2023.
The MEE said it will continue to strengthen relevant monitoring work and promptly follow and assess the potential impact of the discharge of nuclear-contaminated water from the Fukushima nuclear plant on China’s marine radiation environment.
The National Nuclear Safety Administration (NNSA) has urged China's newly-built and projected nuclear power plants to fully consider water intake issues, in a bid to ensure the safe operation of nuclear power facilities.
During a recent meeting, the administration emphasized that relevant departments should improve water intake procedures due to changes in climate and sea environment over the years, to further ensure the smooth operation of nuclear power plants. This was stated by NNSA's official social media account on Monday.
The meeting was convened after Japan released nuclear-contaminated water from the crippled Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant into the ocean on Thursday. China halted aquatic product imports from Japan from that day and condemned Japan's actions as an irresponsible attitude towards the Chinese people and humanity as a whole.
The meeting underscored that the design of all newly-built and projected nuclear power plants should prioritize the security of water intake. Relevant hydrological, climatic, and marine biome data should be collected and monitored, and then utilized in professional research to address potential challenges in the sector.
Ice removal may soon become a lot easier. Researchers have developed a new method for making ice-phobic surfaces by altering the density and slipperiness of spray-on polymer coatings.
The process, reported online March 11 in Science Advances, could lead to a wide range of long-lasting ice-repellent products including windshields, airplane wings, power cables and frozen food packaging, researchers say.
Scientists know that ice easily detaches from softer, less dense materials. Further adjusting the density of rubber polymers used to make the coatings and adding silicone or other lubricants such as vegetable oil, cod-liver oil and safflower oil amplifies the effect, Anish Tuteja, a materials science engineer at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor, and colleagues found. In multiple laboratory and field tests, ice slid off treated surfaces under its own weight or when it was pushed by mild wind. The researchers further tested the coatings’ durability on various surfaces such as metal license plates and glass panes. The coatings performed well through two Michigan winters and retained their ice-repelling properties after controlled exposure to icing and heat cycles, corrosive substances such as hydrochloric acid, and wear and tear.
The process has already yielded more than 100 different coatings tailored for specific surfaces, including metal, glass, wood, plastic and cardboard. Tuteja says his team is working on licensing the materials for commercial use.
