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Yahoo
3 days ago
- General
- Yahoo
China launches Tianwen-2 to chase Moon-origin asteroid, explore hybrid comet
China has launched its most ambitious deep space mission yet. On Wednesday, the Tianwen-2 probe lifted off atop a Long March 3B rocket at 1:31 pm Eastern (17:31 UTC) from the Xichang Satellite Launch Center in Sichuan province. The mission aims to collect samples from a near-Earth asteroid and later survey a comet in the main asteroid belt, marking the country's first asteroid sampling effort. Tianwen-2 is now en route to asteroid 469219 Kamoʻoalewa (2016 HO3), a small rocky body orbiting close to Earth. The probe is expected to reach the asteroid in mid-2026 and return samples to Earth in 2027. After the sample return, it will continue its journey toward comet 311P/PANSTARRS, with arrival expected around 2035. The China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation (CASC) confirmed the successful launch just over an hour after liftoff. Xinhua reported that 'the spacecraft unfolded its solar panels smoothly,' and the China National Space Administration (CNSA) officially declared the mission a success. Discovered in 2016 by researchers in Hawaii, Kamoʻoalewa is believed to be a fragment of the Moon. Scientists hope to analyze its structure, mineral content, and origin. It is roughly 40 to 100 meters in diameter. Depending on surface conditions, the mission will employ three sampling methods — hover sampling, touch-and-go, and anchored drilling. Tianwen-2 will then use Earth's gravity to redirect itself toward comet 311P. The comet orbits between Mars and Jupiter and displays asteroid-like behavior, making it ideal for studying transitional objects in the solar system. Reaching and sampling small celestial bodies is more challenging than orbiting planets. The mission must navigate weak and irregular gravity fields, which rule out traditional orbiting methods. 'These bodies have extremely weak and irregular gravity fields,' Franco Perez-Lissi, Ramses mission systems engineer at the European Space Agency (ESA), told SpaceNews. 'So we cannot rely on traditional orbiting like we do around the planet.' Tianwen-2 must closely match the asteroid's rotation and speed for successful sampling. Perez-Lissi likened the maneuver to 'trying to dock a boat with a mountain floating in space and tumbling really unpredictably and with almost no gravity.' The probe carries 11 science payloads, including spectrometers, high-resolution cameras, a radar sounder, and particle detectors. These will study the composition, geological features, magnetic fields, and solar wind interactions at both the asteroid and the comet. Past missions like NASA's OSIRIS-REx and JAXA's Hayabusa2 have returned organic materials, including amino acids and nucleobases—key building blocks of life. Tianwen-2 follows the successful Tianwen-1 Mars mission and precedes plans for Mars sample return and Jupiter system exploration. These missions are part of a long-term roadmap that includes the International Lunar Research Station and a Venus sample return. According to Xinhua, Shan Zhongde, head of the CNSA, 'expressed his expectation of yielding groundbreaking discoveries and expanding humanity's knowledge of the cosmos.' China continues to invest heavily in space, with its Tiangong space station now operational and a crewed Moon mission planned for later this decade. Tianwen-2 could mark another leap forward in China's 'space dream,' as articulated by President Xi Jinping.
The Irish Sun
19-05-2025
- Science
- The Irish Sun
China begins assembling AI supercomputer in SPACE made of thousands of satellites circling Earth that talk using lasers
CHINA has reportedly begun assembling an AI supercomputer in space, which will eventually consist of 2,800 satellites in Earth's orbit. ADA Space, based in Chengdu, sent the first 12 satellites of its mammoth network last week, 2 The satellites were launched aboard a Long March 2D rocket on 14 May, from Jiuquan Satellite Launch Centre in northwest China Credit: China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation These satellites are able to process the data they collect locally, rather than beaming it to stations on Earth to compute, according to ADA. Data stored onboard satellites is sent down to Earth in batches - but some of this information can get lost during transmission. Beyond being slow, "less than 10 per cent" of satellite data makes it to Earth due to things limited bandwidth and ground station availability, according to the Part of ADA's 'Star Compute' project, the satellites are reportedly in-built with super-fast AI processors that can communicate with sister satellites at up to 100GB per second using lasers. READ MORE ON SPACE That is much faster than traditional satellites. The network can also share 30 terabytes worth of storage between them, Space News added. For context, that's enough storage for 20,000 HD movies, or 10 years of continuous video recording on a single hard drive. The 12 satellites that were launched last week carry scientific payloads, including a special tool for picking up brief cosmic phenomena such as gamma-ray bursts, called a X-ray polarisation detector. Most read in Science But they can also be used to create 3D digital twin data for purposes like emergency response, gaming, and tourism, ADA Space said in its announcement. Watch China's bizarre new plans for lunar base race with egg habitation domes that can resist moonquakes ADA Space announced it would collaborate with Zhejiang Lab on the satellite constellation last summer. The satellites were launched aboard a Long March 2D rocket on 14 May, from Jiuquan Satellite Launch Centre in northwest China. 2 These satellites are able to process the data they collect locally, rather than beaming it to stations on Earth to compute, according to ADA Credit: Xinhua
NDTV
19-05-2025
- Science
- NDTV
China Building World's First Supercomputer In Space Using AI-Powered Satellites
China is building the world's first supercomputer network in space, for which it launched 12 AI-powered satellites last week. The state-owned China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation announced that the first of 2,800 satellites, part of its 'Star Computing' programme, were launched aboard a Long March 2D rocket and successfully deployed into orbit. Each of the 12 satellites can process up to 744 trillion operations per second, having transfer rates up to 100 gigabits per second. The satellites are also equipped with a space-based AI model with eight billion parameters, capable of processing raw satellite data directly in orbit. "The Long March 2D carrier rocket successfully sent the space computing satellite constellation into the predetermined orbit. The launch mission was a complete success," the agency said. "The space computing satellite constellation is the first constellation of the 'Star Computing' program." The "Three-Body Computing Constellation" will function as a space-based data processing network capable of computing vast amounts of information directly in orbit, without relying on any Earth-based infrastructure. It will also be more powerful than any other supercomputer system on Earth, as it wouldn't need the costly cooling systems that Earth-based computing systems require. According to estimates by the International Energy Agency, data centres globally could consume more than 1,000 terawatt hours of electricity by 2026, which is equivalent to Japan's electricity use. Currently, less than 10 per cent of the collected data by satellites is relayed to Earth, often with significant delays, according to a report in South China Morning Post. The new Chinese endeavour, however, aims to solve the limits of Earth-based data processing. China's ambitious space plans This is not the first instance of China announcing its ambitious plans for space. Earlier this year, Beijing unveiled plans to build the "Three Gorges Dam of Space" to harness limitless solar power. This initiative involves deploying a massive solar array one kilometre wide in geostationary orbit, 36,000 kilometres above Earth, where it can collect solar energy uninterruptedly, unaffected by the planet's day-night cycle or weather conditions.
Newsweek
17-05-2025
- Science
- Newsweek
China Starts Building First Giant Supercomputer Network in Space
Based on facts, either observed and verified firsthand by the reporter, or reported and verified from knowledgeable sources. Newsweek AI is in beta. Translations may contain inaccuracies—please refer to the original content. China has begun launching satellites for a giant computer network in space, according to the China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation. Newsweek contacted the company and the United States Space Force for comment. Why It Matters Space is an increasing frontier for competition between China and the United States. Putting a computer network in space marks a step change from using satellites for sensing and communications, but leaving them dependent on their connections to Earth for data processing. The satellite constellation planned by China would allow the network to operate free of such constraints. It would avoid the need for the costly cooling systems that Earth-based computing requires and remove it from the risks of being tied to the ground — also providing potential military advantages in the event of conflict. The new network's artificial intelligence capabilities highlight the intensification of the AI race between China and the United States. What To Know The state-owned China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation said that 12 satellites were launched from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in northern China aboard a Long March 2D rocket on May 14. "It successfully sent the space computing satellite constellation into the predetermined orbit. The launch mission was a complete success," it said. "The space computing satellite constellation is the first constellation of the 'Star Computing' program." The satellites of the Star Computing program are developed by the Guoxing Aerospace Corporation. The plan is to have 2,800 satellites that will be connected to each other by laser in a single computing network, according to the Chinese-language ST daily, the official newspaper of the Ministry of Science and Technology. Image representing data processing in space Image representing data processing in space AI generated The number of satellites is still small compared to the Starlink communications network of Elon Musk's SpaceX, which is the world's largest satellite constellation and had more than 6,750 satellites in orbit by the end of February, according to the company. Launches continue and it may eventually expand to over 30,000 satellites. In a sign of the U.S.-China space rivalry, an American military satellite was tracked "buzzing" its Chinese counterparts recently. Chinese space projects in Latin America have become a concern for the United States, a top U.S. general warned. What People Are Saying The Chinese Ministry of Science and Technology's ST Daily: "The construction of the first constellation will build a future computing network... meet the growing demand for real-time computing in space, and help the country take the lead in building global space computing infrastructure, take the commanding heights of the path of the future industry and break through the boundaries of the field of artificial intelligence from the ground to space." Jonathan McDowell of Harvard University, quoted by the South China Morning Post: "Orbital data centres can use solar power and radiate their heat to space, reducing the energy needs and carbon footprint... Today's Chinese launch is the first substantial flight test of the networking part of this concept." What Happens Next China is expected to intensify research as it seeks to surpass the United States in space technologies, high speed computing and artificial intelligence.
Yahoo
16-05-2025
- Science
- Yahoo
China starts building world-first supercomputer in orbit, launches key satellites
China is preparing to build the world's first supercomputer in orbit, according to reports. Therefore, Beijing has launched new satellites that are equipped with intelligent computing systems and inter-satellite communication Asian giant sent 12 such satellites, part of the space-based Three-Body Computing Constellation, to orbit on May 14. To execute the mission, Chinese scientists used a Long March 2D rocket from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch have revealed that the constellation could comprise thousands of satellites with a combined computing power of 1,000 peta operations per second (POPS). Members of the Chinese Academy of Engineering have underlined that the constellation is expected to perform real-time data processing in orbit. Zhejiang Lab is jointly executing the project, a research institute based in Hangzhou, in collaboration with international Jian, a member of the Chinese Academy of Engineering and the director of the lab, revealed that the constellation could also address efficiency issues in traditional satellite systems and accelerate the integration of AI into space-based applications. Wang had previously highlighted that the aim is to scale up the computing power of a single satellite from the teraflop to the petaflop level, and to achieve seamless interconnectivity between satellites, just like how the internet links individual member highlighted that with a computing constellation, even a single satellite can generate value. This has profound implications for the future of the space industry, according to Wang. The launch, announced by China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation (CASC), could greatly expand the boundaries of space applications. The construction of the constellation is expected to have far-reaching significance for the space industry. Reports revealed that the initial satellites, which provide a combined computing power of 5 POPS and 30 terabytes of storage capacity, have the capability of in-orbit computing in space. One satellite also carried an X-ray polarization detector developed by Guangxi University and the National Astronomical Observatories of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, which will be used to study gamma-ray bursts. Zhejiang Lab said it plans to collaborate with partners to deploy a constellation of more than 50 computing satellites this year. The step is expected to mark the beginning of space-based cloud computing as a new capability. It could open a new arena for strategic competition with the U.S. The ability to reduce bottlenecks for data from space and other capabilities could have potential economic, scientific, and military implications. While the U.S. and Europe have tested edge computing in space, China's collaborative effort appears to be the first to deploy a purpose-built AI constellation at scale, reported Space News.
