China's lunar ambitions: Rover unveiled

Shanghai unveiled a protocol lunar land rover last week in hopes of being selected for China's first moon landing in 2012. After four years of construction, the space vehicle which was on display at the Chian-United Kingdom space technology seminar was created by research engineers at the Shanghai Aerospace System Engineering Institute.


Similar to the United States' mars land rover "Spirit," the un-named lunar rover is said to travel an average of 100 meters per hour and is 1.5 meters high and weighs 200 kg. "We want to make it better than the early US and Russian rovers," institute director Luo Jian said.


With abilities to climb slopes and avoid obstacles, the rover is engineered to capture 3-D images, transmit real-time motion pictures and collect and analyze soil samples. But despite the announcement, researchers said it is not ready to handle extreme cold temperatures and retain sufficient amounts of solar energy for space travel.

The institute said it also plans to simulate lunar-environment in order to refine the their protocol. Other space institutes in Beijing and China are also working on rovers in hopes of being selected to represent China's space ambitions.

Source: Shanghia Daily