Artificial Moon: China's new space record | Sunday Observer

Artificial Moon: China's new space record

6 February, 2022

We all know that there is strong competition between China and the US for space exploration. Though it is not healthy for the space probe, it is the harsh reality.

However, in this journey for space authority, China was able to take an extraordinary step recently. They have built an artificial moon that simulates low-gravity conditions on Earth, which is a fantastic thing for people who don't experience space technology.

The landscape in this artificial moon is supported by a magnetic field and was inspired by experiments to levitate a frog. According to scientists involved in the project, the facility could provide valuable research for China’s lunar exploration activities. This 'new moon' is located in the eastern city of Xuzhou, in Jiangsu province, the simulator is expected to be officially launched in the coming months.

First of its kind

Lead scientist Li Ruilin, from the China University of Mining and Technology, told the ‘South China Morning Post’ newspaper that it was the “first of its kind in the world” and would take lunar simulation to a whole new level.

The simulator can make gravity “disappear”, Li said in an interview to the newspaper. While low gravity can be achieved in an aircraft or a drop tower, it is momentary. Li said in the simulator the effect can “last as long as you want”.

When the field is strong enough it can magnetise and levitate things – from a living frog to a chestnut – against the gravitational force.

“Some experiments such as an impact test need just a few seconds [in the simulator],” said Li, from the university’s state key laboratory for geomechanics and deep underground engineering. “But others such as creep testing can take several days.”

Geim’s experiments

Li also told the ‘South China Morning Post’ that the idea came from Russian-born physicist Andre Geim’s experiments to levitate a frog with a magnet – for which he won an Ig Nobel Prize, celebrating science that “first makes people laugh, and then think”, in 2000. Geim, from the University of Manchester in England, also won a Nobel Prize in Physics in 2010 for his work on graphene.

“Magnetic levitation is certainly not the same as antigravity, but there is a variety of situations where mimicking microgravity by magnetic fields could be invaluable to expect the unexpected in space research,” he said.

As above said, China hopes to take the lead in a new international space race with the United States.

That includes its lunar exploration program – named after the mythical moon goddess Chang’e – whose recent missions include landing a rover on the far side of the moon in 2019, and in 2020 bringing rock samples back to Earth for the first time in 44 years.

A joint lunar research base by 2030

By 2030, China hopes to land astronauts on the moon, and to set up a joint lunar research base with Russia. Chinese space authorities said last month that construction of the research station could start as soon as 2027 – years ahead of schedule – amid concerns over US-led moves to set the rules for future lunar activities. Nasa also plans to send astronauts back to the moon by 2024 under its Artemis program.

The new technology will allow scientists to test equipment – and potentially prevent costly miscalculations – in a simulation of the extreme lunar environment, where rocks and dust can behave in a completely different way than they do on Earth. There is no atmosphere on the moon, the temperature can change quickly and dramatically, and in low gravity, soil particles are more loosely bound to each other.

According the China news reports, the Chang’e 5 mission returned with rock samples in December 2020, but there were not as many as planned because the drill hit unexpected resistance. Previous missions by the Soviet Union and US have had similar issues.

Experiments conducted on a smaller prototype simulator suggested drill resistance on the moon could be much higher than predicted by theoretical models, according to a paper by the Xuzhou team published in the Journal of China University of Mining and Technology last week.

Not an easy task

Simulating the harsh lunar environment on Earth was no easy task – the magnetic force needed is so strong that it could tear apart components like superconducting wires. Add to that the many metallic components needed for the vacuum chamber which do not function properly near a powerful magnet.

Li further revealed that the team came up with a number of technical innovations to get around these challenges, including simulating lunar dust that could float more easily in the magnetic field, and replacing steel with aluminium in some of the key components.

Open to researchers around the world

He also said the Chinese facility would be open to researchers from around the world. He noted that if UK-based physicist Geim came to this new moon laboratory, they would very much please. “We definitely welcome Professor Geim to come and share more great ideas with us,” Li said.

So with this new discovery, we can say that the lunar exploration of mankind has come to a new height. Definitely, it will be a turning point of man's quest for living in another planet. But it is also significant to mention that as long as we are in a race to become first rather than putting a collective effort to win the space, we can achieve nothing, but destruction.

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