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IPFS News Link • China

China Aiming to Establish a Power Station in Space by 2025

• http://fortune.com, By BLOOMBERG

Following its successful and world-beating trip to the far side of the moon, China is preparing to build a solar power station in space, as the world's No. 2 economy strives to burnish its superpower credentials. With an $8 billion annual budget for its space program, second only to the U.S., China is seeking to compete with its rival for economic, military and technological dominance.

Scientists have already started construction of an experimental base in the western Chinese city Chongqing. Initially, they plan to develop a smaller power station in the stratosphere between 2021 and 2025, a 1 megawatt-level solar facility in space by 2030, and eventually larger generators, according to the state-backed Science and Technology Daily.

Here's what China's been doing in space:

Moon Exploration

The nation's space scientists successfully landed a lunar probe on the far side of the moon on Jan. 3, capping a series of missions and giving a boost to China's ambitions. Landing on the unexplored region will enable Chang'e-4, the rover named after the mythical Moon Goddess, to better study the moon because of the lack of electromagnetic interference from Earth. The vehicle is equipped with a low-frequency radio spectrometer to help scientists understand "how the earliest stars were ignited and how our cosmos emerged from darkness after the Big Bang," according to China's official Xinhua News Agency.


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