China plans first space docking for 2011

BEIJING — China will launch a space module next year and carry out the nation's first space docking in 2011 as a step towards its goal of building a space station, state media said Sunday.

The Tiangong-1, or "Heavenly Palace-1" is scheduled for launch in late 2010 and will dock with a Shenzhou-8 spacecraft early the following year, Xinhua news agency said, citing officials with China's space programme.

"The module, named Tiangong-1, is designed to provide a 'safe room' for Chinese astronauts to live and conduct scientific research in zero gravity," the report said.

"Weighing about 8.5 tonnes, Tiangong-1 is able to perform long-term unattended operation, which will be an essential step toward building a space station."

Space programme officials have previously said China is expected to place in orbit several modules like the Tiangong and link them up to form a semi-permanent space platform.

It was not immediately clear if the Tiangong-1 would eventually serve as China's first manned space station, or whether it would be a base to test docking and space station technology.

The planned 2011 docking would be remotely carried out by scientists on the ground and would not involve astronauts, the report said.

The announcement of the Tiangong mission came as China's first lunar probe, the Chang'e-1 impacted the moon's surface Sunday afternoon, after a nearly 16 month mission photographing and mapping the lunar surface, Xinhua said in a separate report.

The Chang'e-1 was launched on October 24, 2007, signalling China's rising space ambitions and Beijing's participation in a renewed race against Asian rivals Japan and India to explore the moon.

The probe, named after a legendary Chinese goddess who flew to the moon, is the first stage of China's lunar programme, which includes landing an unmanned rover on the surface by 2012 and a manned mission by around 2020.

China became the third nation to put a man in space when Yang Liwei piloted the one-man Shenzhou-5 space mission in 2003.

Last September, the Shenzhou-7, piloted by three "taikonauts" or astronauts, carried out China's first space walk.

This year, China's space programme will focus on building several prototypes of the Tiangong, while upgrades to the carrier rocket that will launch the module into space would also be carried out, Xinhua said.

Following the Shenzhou-8 flight, China also hopes to begin the mass production of Shenzhou spacecraft which will be used to transport astronauts to the space station, it said.

The International Space Station began with the launch into orbit of the first station element, a Russian-built module on November 20, 1998.

It orbits 350 kilometres (190 miles) above the earth's surface with a permanent crew of three astronauts, who remain aboard for stays lasting several months.

(AFP)

China's Lunar Probe Lands on Moon

China says its first lunar probe has landed on the moon, marking a significant step forward in its space exploration program.

The state-run Xinhua news agency says the satellite hit the lunar surface Sunday, ending a 16-month mission through space.

The landing was the first step in China's plans to land a vehicle on the moon to collect mineral samples in 2012.

Before that happens, China plans to send another lunar probe to the moon to practice soft landings.

China became the third country to send a manned flight into space in 2003, following Russia and the United States.

(Voice of America)

Nobel jurors face bribery probe for China trips

Nobel prize jurors who accepted all-expenses-paid trips to China to discuss the awards are being investigated on suspicion of bribery, a Swedish prosecutor said yesterday.

Anti-corruption prosecutor Nils-Erik Schultz said he opened the investigation to determine whether the trips in 2006 and 2008 were meant to influence the decisions of the Nobel committees. He declined to name the jurors.

The investigation was prompted by a Swedish radio report which said three jurors from the medicine, chemistry and physics committees were invited to China to explain the selection process and what it takes to win a Nobel prize. Chinese authorities paid for their plane tickets, hotels and meals, the report said. If charged and convicted, the jurors would face fines or up to two years in prison. But Swedish prosecutors often drop preliminary investigations without pressing charges.

Gunnar Oquist, the permanent secretary of the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences, which awards prizes in chemistry, physics and economics, acknowledged that the trips were inappropriate. "We should be very careful not to put ourselves in a situation where the Nobel committee's work can be called into question," he said.

Five Europeans, four Americans and three Japanese received the 2008 awards last week.

(Guardian)

China experts identify gene for yield, height in rice

KABUL, May 5 - Scientists in China have identified a single gene that appears to control rice yield, as well as its height and flowering time, taking what may be a crucial step in global efforts to increase crop productivity.

In an article published in Nature Genetics, the researchers said they were able to pinpoint a single gene, Ghd7, which appears to determine all three traits.

Previous studies identified a region on chromosome 7 which seemed to be responsible, but they were not able to zero in on any specific gene.

"Our study shows that a single gene can control several traits with major effects. It can double the yield, determine flowering time and plant height," said Zhang Qifa of the Huazhong Agricultural University in Wuhan province in China.

"Previously, we thought we needed to change many genes to change rice yield, now we just need to manipulate a single gene to increase productivity," he told Reuters by telephone.

Zhang and his colleagues studied 19 rice varieties in Asia and found that plants that were shorter, had fewer grains per cluster of flowers, and flowered earlier were lacking in the gene Ghd7.

When the gene was restored, the scientists saw sharp changes of increased yields, a doubling of the time to flowering and a 67 percent increase in height.

The scientists also found five different versions of Ghd7.

"The most highly active versions were present in warmer regions, allowing rice plants to fully exploit light and temperature by delaying flowering and increasing yield. Less active or inactive versions were found in cooler regions, enabling rice to be cultivated in areas where the growing season is shorter," they wrote.

(Reuters)