Super telescopes for moon-probe project tested (Xinhua) Updated: 2006-06-19 21:28
Chinese scientists have for the first time tested the ability of four super
radio telescopes to monitor a moon-orbiting satellite, sources with the project
announced on Friday.
The project aimed to test the joint function and ability of the radio
telescopes, which would monitor China's first moon-probe program scheduled for
launch in 2007, sources with the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS) said.
The moon satellite detected and tracked by the super telescope belongs to
European Space Agency (ESA).
The monitoring project had done successfully and it proved that China was
able to detect and track moon-orbiting satellites, according to Li Yan, director
of the CAS Yunnan Observatory.
The telescopes set up in Beijing, Shanghai, the southwestern Yunnan Province,
and the northwestern Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region are 2,000 to 3,000
kilometers apart from each other.
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