NEWS:
As per the state news agency Xinhua, Chinese scientists have developed better technology by way of an ‘Eye Guidance System’ for docking between vessels in space. China Academy of Space Technology claims that the development of this technology will make the procedure for docking between space vehicles safer as well as far more efficient. The new guidance system will be used for China’s second orbiting space lab, the Tiangong 2, the Chang’e 5 lunar probe and eventually a planned permanently manned space station. China plans to launch the Tiangong 2 next year and send the Chang’e 5 to collect samples from the Moon and return to the Earth around 2017. A permanently manned space station is expected to be launched in the year 2022.

VIEWS:
One of the major challenges faced in the exploration of outer space is to achieve safe and efficient docking of two vehicles in space, both travelling at a speed exceeding eight times that of a bullet. The Eye Guidance System developed recently by space scientist in China literally provides an ‘Eye’ to a space vehicle that is chasing another in space for thousands of kilometres to achieve a perfect rendezvous and docking. While executing the docking manoeuvre, the last 150 metres between the two spacecraft is the most critical as even a minor deviation during docking might end a failure of the mission. As per space scientists, “it is more difficult than threading a needle”. Good ‘eyesight’ is therefore of vital importance and plays a critical role in the success of a docking manoeuvre by vehicles manoeuvring in outer space.

The recently developed ‘Eye’ by Chinese space scientists is a third generation guidance system for rendezvous and docking. It is based on a Charge-Coupled Device (CCD) optical imaging sensor. The CCD is manufactured through a special process to create the ability to transport charge across the chip without any distortion whatsoever thus providing for a very high quality sensor in terms of fidelity and light sensitivity.

For the leadership in China headed by President Xi Jinping, development of space technology as well as capability for space exploration figures high on the list of the nation’s priorities. The stated aim of the Chinese leadership that indeed is quite ambitious, is to turn the nation into a major space power to be able to compete on equal terms with other leading space-faring nations such as the United States and Russia.

Relatively speaking, the beginning of China’s efforts at space exploration are of recent origin. China’s quest for manned space flight 15 years ago was only a dream. However, having made impressive strides in the intervening period in this regime, China is now aiming to land an astronaut on the moon in the near future and send a mission to Mars in 2020. This mission will include orbiting of the Red Planet by a space vehicle, landing a rover on the Red Planet and exploring its surface. While this plan may appear to be somewhat ambitious, it is noteworthy that the prototypes for the Mars rover were on display at the China International Aviation and Aerospace Exhibition held recently. China plans to launch the space laboratory Tiangong 2 next year and send the Chang’e 5 to collect samples from the Moon and return to Earth around 2017. A permanently manned space station is planned for about 2022.

In the recent past, China has recorded a number of major successes in space exploration. In June 2013, three Chinese astronauts spent 15 days in orbit aboard the Tiangong 1 (Heavenly Palace) that was an experimental space laboratory. Only six months later, the unmanned rover named as ‘Yutu’, successfully touched down on the surface of the Moon. The occasion marked the first soft-landing on the Moon since 1976 and Yutu became the first unmanned rover on the Moon since Russia’s Lunokhod 2 ceased to operate in 1973.

Despite the advances, China’s space programme still lags behind that of the US and Russia. While China has achieved remarkable success in space exploration, her space programme has had its share of failures as well. China’s first lunar rover that was launched in late 2013 has since been beset by mechanical problems. China’s first attempt in 2011 at launching a satellite to orbit the Red Planet was unsuccessful as the Russian rocket carrying the payload failed to exit the orbit of the Earth. China is yet to successfully negotiate a number of technological challenges and develop the capabilities to launch cargo and fuel via space freighters and its technology for recycling water and air is not fit for extended manned missions. The road ahead for China in the regime of space exploration is yet quite long.

China’s rapid advances in space exploration and the massive investments the nation is making has been of concern to the US for strategic reasons. Although China has always maintained that her space programme is only for peaceful purposes, the US believes that China has been trying to develop the capability to destroy or neutralise space-based assets of her adversaries in the event of war. The apprehension is that China will interfere with space-based communication systems of nations hostile to her thus significantly eroding their military potential. This is a potential threat that India too cannot and ought not to ignore.