"Hand in hand" in outer space? A review of the "highlights" of China's international space cooperation

After decades of efforts, China's space industry has made great progress, with rapid developments in manned spaceflight, lunar exploration and BeiDou navigation. At the same time, China is willing to cooperate with other countries to jointly develop space technology and make the space industry benefit all mankind.

Sino-French Ocean Satellite

Since the launch of the first artificial satellite in 1957, the history of space technology development has been more than 60 years. However, China and France have cooperated in this field for more than 40 years. In September 1977, when China was about to start reform and opening up, it sent a Chinese aerospace technology delegation to visit the French aerospace technology research institute. It was the first time that my country sent a space technology delegation abroad. Since then, the exchange and cooperation between China and France in aerospace technology has kicked off. In 2005, China and France solemnly signed an agreement to work together in the two high-tech fields of astronomical satellites and ocean satellites. This agreement not only marks the official birth of the Sino-French Ocean Satellite Project Group, but also heralds the beginning of a 13-year journey of in-depth cooperation. On October 29, 2018, a historic moment took place at the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in China. With the roar of the engine, the Long March 2C carrier rocket carrying the ocean satellite jointly developed by China and France cut through the sky and headed for the vast space.

The Chinese side was responsible for manufacturing the "body" of the satellite, and also made a "sea wind detector", and was responsible for the satellite launch and subsequent work, while the French side made a "wave observer". The ocean satellite jointly developed by China and France successfully achieved the first synchronous observation of sea breeze and waves. The satellite works 24 hours a day at a distance of 520 kilometers from the earth. It has two super powerful "eyes": one is an advanced microwave scatterometer made in China, which can sense the wind at sea; the other is an ocean spectrometer made in France, which is responsible for monitoring waves. With this satellite, scientists can know the secrets of the ocean more clearly, such as those huge waves and fierce storms. They can predict them earlier and tell everyone. In this way, we can prepare in advance and protect ourselves. Moreover, this satellite is a "versatile". In addition to watching the sea, it can also observe the land surface, and can provide key data such as soil moisture, surface roughness, and the perennial ice and snow cover in the polar regions.

In addition, the Sino-French astronomical satellite jointly developed by my country and France was also launched into space on June 22 this year on a Long March 2C rocket.

China-Brazil Earth Resources Satellite

At the end of April this year, Rio Grande do Sul in southern Brazil was hit hard by heavy rains and floods. At this time, the two earth satellites 04 and 04A of China and Brazil played a big role. The Brazilian Space Research Institute used these two satellites to monitor the dynamic changes of floods in real time, determine which places were most flooded, and how much infrastructure such as houses and roads were damaged, and provided strong support for the Brazilian government's post-disaster reconstruction. Moreover, these two satellites are the "guardians" of the Amazon rainforest. Through the satellite's wide coverage and high-precision observation, once dangerous behaviors such as deforestation or fire prevention are found in the rainforest, they will be reported immediately. In particular, when the area of ​​rainforest loss exceeds 0.25 square kilometers, the satellite will immediately tell people, and professional teams will rush to protect the rainforest.

The first cooperative satellite between China and Pakistan, 01, was launched as early as 1999. It is China's first real-time transmission type earth remote sensing satellite with the greatest technical challenges and the widest application field. Now, China and Pakistan have jointly developed 6 satellites, and 04 and 04A are still in orbit. The China-Brazil Earth Resources Satellite has also assumed important international responsibilities. It is the duty satellite of the International Charter on Space and Major Disasters, providing valuable remote sensing detection data for disaster-stricken areas, and also providing free data to international organizations such as the United Nations Platform for Space-based Information for Disaster Management and Emergency Response.

China-Brazil Earth Resources Satellite

EgyptSat-2

As the first country to join hands with China to promote the joint development of satellites under the framework of the Belt and Road Initiative, Egypt has forged an indissoluble bond with China in the field of aerospace technology since 2014. The two sides jointly signed the "Agreement on Cooperation in the Field of Space Technology and Remote Sensing Applications". This milestone cooperation document marks the opening of a new chapter of in-depth cooperation between the two countries in many key areas such as satellite development, satellite launch, space measurement and control, satellite applications and data sharing. With the deepening of cooperation, the partnership between China and Egypt in the field of aerospace has become increasingly consolidated. In January 2019, the two sides once again joined hands to sign the implementation agreement of Egypt Satellite No. 2.

The Egypt-Aid-2 satellite project has undergone more than four years of careful design and development. During this period, the teams of the two countries worked side by side, not only overcoming many technical challenges, but also jointly resisting the continued impact of the epidemic. The project successfully completed the manufacture of a total of 3 satellites, including prototypes and final samples, and carried out rigorous on-site testing for three months at the Egyptian Satellite Assembly Integration Test Center. On December 4, 2023, the satellite was successfully launched. On March 20, 2024, the Egyptian Space Agency held a delivery ceremony for the Egypt-Aid-2 satellite project. After in-orbit delivery, the satellite will provide high-quality, high-resolution remote sensing data, providing information support for agricultural resource management, forestry ecological monitoring, and urban development planning.

my country uses Long March 2C carrier rocket to launch Egypt's second satellite

Chang'e-6 International Payload

On June 25, 2024, Chang'e-6 returned to Earth with lunar soil samples dug from the far side of the moon. This time, Chang'e-6 also carried several international partners to space. In April 2019, through extensive solicitation and strict selection of two batches of international payload project proposals, four international payloads were finally selected: the French radon gas detector, the European Space Agency's lunar surface negative ion analyzer, the Pakistani CubeSat and the Italian laser corner reflector.

On May 8, Pakistan's CubeSat separated from the orbiter near the apogee of its 12-hour large elliptical orbit around the moon, and successfully captured and transmitted back its first lunar image, with clear images and complete data. The other three international payloads continued to follow Chang'e-6 to land on the moon. The French radon detector is responsible for accurately measuring the distribution of radon isotopes, and the European Space Agency's lunar surface negative ion analyzer will deeply explore the complex interaction mechanism between plasma and the lunar surface. The Italian laser corner reflector can not only provide precise positioning services for exploration missions such as Chang'e-6, but also has the potential to jointly carry out ranging and positioning research with other international lunar exploration missions.

Pakistan's CubeSat captures first image of the Moon

According to information released by the National Space Administration, Chang'e-7, scheduled to be launched around 2026, will carry six international payloads to the moon.

By continuously deepening cooperation with countries around the world in aerospace technology, scientific research, talent training and resource sharing, we are gradually building an open, inclusive, mutually beneficial and win-win international aerospace cooperation ecosystem. China's aerospace industry will embrace the world with a more open attitude and move forward hand in hand with partners from all over the world. Let us work together to build a starry sky dream, let dreams illuminate reality, and let human footprints shine in the depths of the universe.

Some information comes from CCTV.com, Huanqiu.com, People.cn, etc.