Subject: [SciPol 408] Re: Just watched 2 network news programs and not a word about the news about Mars

From: Dan <[email-masked]>
Date: Thu, 29 Mar 2007 06:03:33 -0700 (PDT)

I’ve always felt that a Mars Mission should be an international endeavor. Such a large project would help promote good will between all nations that participate. 
   
  Dan G

Icarus II <[email-masked]> wrote:
  
Our mainstream channels of information are pretty
tightly controlled and good evidence of that is their
unwillingness to announce the proposed joint
Chinese-Russian mission to Mars, copies of two
announcements below. They had plenty of time to think
up something upbeat, but apparently they're unsure of
themselves. Does anyone think this project is just pie
in the sky and not likely to materialize?

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
China and Russia plan Mars mission 
by Peter Harmsen
Wed Mar 28, 2007

China announced Wednesday it will launch a joint
mission with Russia to Mars in 2009, marking "an
important milestone" in space cooperation between the
two countries.

A small Chinese satellite will take off on a Russian
rocket, according to the agreement signed Monday
between the China National Space Administration and
the Russian Federal Space Agency, the Chinese space
body said.

The agreement, signed during an ongoing three-day
visit to Russia by Chinese President Hu Jintao,
follows pledges by Moscow in recent months to work
closely with Beijing on exploration of both Mars and
the moon.

"This is an important milestone in Sino-Russian space
cooperation," the Chinese space administration said as
it unveiled the details of the Mars mission in a
statement posted on its website.

According to the agreement, a small satellite
developed by China would be launched along with
"Phobos Explorer," a Russian spacecraft, probably in
October 2009, the administration reported.

After entering Mars' orbit -- 10 to 11 months later --
the Chinese satellite would be detached from the
spacecraft and probe the Martian space environment, it
said.

The "Phobos Explorer," carrying equipment partly
developed by the Hong Kong Polytechnic University,
would land on Phobos, a Martian moon, and return to
Earth with soil samples, according to the
administration.

The trip to the Red Planet could be a case of Chinese
money mixing with Russian science, according to
observers.

"No one has more experience in space exploration than
the Russians, and there's no question that their
technology is far ahead of China's," said Tong
Huiquan, an astronomer at the Nanchang Institute of
Technology in eastern China.

"But China's economy is doing better than Russia's,
and China can provide Russia with some economic
assistance, so it's fair to say it's a win-win
situation," he said.

The state-owned China Daily newspaper suggested the
mission, which has previously been outlined in the
Chinese media, was of scientific value, as it would
yield information on the origins of the solar system
and Earth.

Even so, many observers have seen China's revived
interest in space as a reflection of its great power
aspirations, and a source of national pride.

"Our national strength has risen," Zhang Ming, an
astronomy professor at eastern China's Nanjing
University told AFP. "It's a road that we absolutely
must travel."

In 2003 China successfully launched astronaut Yang
Liwei into orbit, becoming the third country after the
former Soviet Union and the United States to put a man
in space.

It has said it hoped to launch a lunar exploration
satellite some time this year as part of a programme
that aimed to place an unmanned vehicle on the moon by
2012.

China's space program can be traced back to the
mid-1950s, when it was started with Soviet help during
a period of warm ties between the two giants of the
Communist bloc.

Even China's recent foray into manned space travel has
come about with some assistance, as Chinese astronauts
are known to have received advanced training in
Russia.

Despite the history of cooperation, Chinese
researchers had few illusions about the extent of the
knowhow that Russia would be willing to share. 

"Although science knows no borders, technology does,
and there's no way others will let you in on their
most advanced technological knowhow," said Zhang, of
Nanjing University. 

"It's hard to tell what kind of cooperation the future
will bring, but it probably will help us add to our
overall technological and scientific abilities."

Copyright © 2007 Agence France Presse. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
China details Mars exploration with Russia 
Tue Mar 27, 2007

China and Russia will mount a joint effort to explore
Mars and one of its moons in 2009, Chinese state media
reported on Wednesday following an agreement to boost
cooperation between the two ambitious space powers.

A Russian rocket will lift a Chinese satellite and
Russian exploration vehicle to survey Mars and Phobos,
the innermost and biggest of the red planet's moons,
the China Daily reported, citing China's National
Space Administration.

The announcement followed an agreement signed on
Monday in Moscow, where Chinese President Hu Jintao
has been visiting.

A Chinese space official said the agreement would
boost cooperation between China and Russia, both eager
to expand their presence in space as the United States
seeks to keep its lead.

"It indicates the two sides have taken a key step
forward to working on a large space program," said the
official, according to the China Daily.

The small Chinese satellite will explore Mars while
the Russian craft will land on Phobos to explore the
environment and scoop up soil samples.

Russia has much more experience than China in space
exploration. But Beijing has been using its newly
acquired wealth and technological muscle to break into
the exclusive space club.

In 2003, China put a man in space, becoming only the
third country to achieve the feat after the United
States and the Soviet Union. It launched a second
manned space flight last year and plans to eventually
land a person on the moon.

The United States has announced its own plans to
expand exploration of Mars and eventually send a
manned expedition there. Washington chided Beijing in
January for testing an anti-satellite missile that
pulverized an old Chinese satellite, scattering debris
that could damage other satellites.

Copyright © 2007 Reuters Limited. 

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