Even as India’s maiden lunar probe Chandrayaan-1 launched in October last created a space history by providing the strongest evidence ever for the presence of water on the moon, China put in place a high resolution, three dimensional atlas of the entire lunar surface by making use of the data provided by Chang’e-1. its first lunar mission launched in 2007. This detailed map, in addition to helping understand the distribution of mineral resources on the lunar surface, will also help China to chose landing sites for its unmanned lunar rovers as well as for its human landing mission to moon. Like India, China too is planning to send an unmanned robotic rover to the lunar surface sometime in the first half of the next decade. Further, both India and China have hinted at manned missions to the moon by around 2020.While China has indicated  the possibility of setting up a base on the moon, India so far  has no plans to undertake such a challenging exercise. However, on a more strategic plane, both India and China have spoken of the possibility of taking up projects to mine lunar resources, particularly Helium-3, a rich and clean source of energy and transport it back to earth for meeting the growing energy needs in a cost effective manner.

In 2003 China became the third country in the world to successfully hoist an astronaut into space. In 2005, China repeated this feat by putting two astronauts into space. This was followed by a successful space walk in September 2008. The successful completion of the human space flight and space walk has given impetus to China’s plan to build and launch an orbital complex. An orbital complex, besides helping China undertake cutting edge research activities, could serve as a strategic platform in space to bolster China’s space war efforts. Defence analysts hold the view that the Chinese plan for a permanent space station would give it an edge in the event of a war involving space assets. China is clear in its perception that space is the battlefield of the future and protecting space assets is essential for decisive victory in the wars of the future.

 

Meanwhile, in keeping with its long term goal of emerging as a space and military power on par with USA and Russia, China has taken up an ambitious project to build its fourth space launching station near the city of Wenchang on the north east coast of  Hainan island. Incidentally, Hainan island happens to be the  epicentre of a massive Chinese naval build up. The ultra modern orbital complex at Wenchang, expected to go on stream by around 2013, will be designed to launch large space stations, deep space probes as well as satellites into geostationary transfer orbit. Moreover, it will be China’s first coastal launch pad that could help China grab an increasing share of the global market for launching satellites. According to Chinese rocket experts, the strategic location of this new launch pad close to the equator would help increase the payload mass of rockets taking off from here by a substantial extent. In other words a rocket launched from Wenchung centre would consume less fuel. ”A satellite launched from Wenchung  will be able to extend its service life by three years as a result of  the fuel saved from the shorter manoeuvres from the transit orbit to the geostationary orbit—36,000 km above the equator where a satellite appears stationary in relation to earth,” said Liang Xiaohong, Vice President of the Chinese Academy of Launch Vehicle Technology. Wenchung is also  likely to be the launch base for  the  new generation, heavy lift-off Long March-5 rocket now under development. All the three Chinese space launch complexes now in operation are landlocked without any access to the sea.

 

Meanwhile, China is planning to open a part of its second stage lunar exploration programme to private participation. “With the expansion of China’s space exploration, we would like to encourage private enterprise to join space technology development and attract funds for aerospace related research, manufacture and trade” said Li Guoping, a spokesman for China National Space Administration. Despite the American trade and technology embargo, China has emerged as a supplier of space services and hardware to many third world countries.

 

In China, the dividing line between space activities and defence projects is as thin as it is tenuous. Unlike India, the space and defence establishments in China are not answerable to the public. The Chinese constellation of satellites for earth imaging, reconnaissance, surveillance, telecommunications and navigation are regularly used by the Chinese defence forces.

China, which has been highlighting the need to keep outer space a zone of peace, stunned the world in early 2007 by successfully deploying a ground based, medium range ballistic missiles to destroy   an aging weather satellite in earth orbit. According to western defence analysts this exercise was a  part of a well conceived plan to perfect a satellite killer device  as a prelude to  boosting China’s space war efforts.