[FPSPACE] China's 2013 Moon rover

[E.P. Grondine]

Hi all - 

http://www.moondaily.com/reports/Shanghai_Own_Moon_Vehicle_Passes_Test_999.html

If I remember correctly CZ 5 starts operations in 2014, so this rover would be launched by existing launchers. 

Of course, one interesting question here is the degree of rover autonomy, which has implications for estimating the development of China's robotic technologies and other AI applications, specifically vision systems.

One puzzlement is the date for China's Moon lander, and the development of powered landing technologies, whether that will be 2017 or 2018, and how that date fits into their planning cycle.

Incidentally, we also learn from spacer.com that some Democrats ( and I believe some Republicans as well ) intend to continue operating the shuttle until the next manned flight system is available. I suspect that that system might be a 3 man capsule on existing EELVs and Falcon.

E.P. Grondine
Man and Impact in the Americas
( which despite all its flaws is after all really a pretty good book anyway)



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