Advanced payload designs and international cooperation will drive the future of space science, according to experts at the opening ceremony of the 2024 International Space Science and Scientific Payload Competition on Monday.
This year's competition was jointly organized by the Chinese Society of Astronautics, the Beijing Institute of Technology, the International Academy of Astronautics, and the Chinese University of Hong Kong.
The competition attracted nearly 200 teams from more than 50 countries and regions, with over 1,000 participants in total. Of these, 30 teams from 10 countries and regions advanced to the final, which was held on Monday in China's Hong Kong Special Administrative Region.
During the opening ceremony, a special round-table discussion was held to let experts exchange insights on payload development.
Niu Aimin, vice president for International Cooperation at USPACE Technology Group Limited, and Xu Yansong, director general of the Education and Training Department at the Asia-Pacific Space Cooperation Organization, shared their thoughts and expectations for the future of payload design during the talks.
"I would be very excited to see some interesting payloads to be developed which can be easily adapted to the complexity of the planet, which should look like a hedgehog and something like a ball with legs which can be easily retractable," said Niu.
"I have two in my mind, one of them is the hard X-ray observatory that we're planning to launch for astrophysics and observatory purposes. And another one is the lunar missions on the south pole that we can find lunar volatiles in the future to pave the way for us to go far beyond the moon. So we understand that we are studying the possibility of deposit of water to better understand the formation of the moon and to also use that as a steppingstone for future missions," said Xu.
Olivier Contant, executive director and Academician at the International Academy of Astronautics, highlighted the importance of payloads with smaller form factors, faster speeds, and higher resolution to enhance satellite capabilities.
"Developing payloads for satellites, the smaller, the fastest and we can have very high resolution. So including the resolution, this kind of satellite will be also something probably very innovating, and you have a lot of work in front of you to all try to figure out all these," said Contant.
Xu and Contant also emphasized the importance of international cooperation, citing the successful launch of China's Chang'e-6 lunar mission as a prime example of what can be achieved through collaboration between nations.
"Competition makes the pace faster, but cooperation may make us go further. Because we need to have a collaborative effort of all international communities to play together. We do have a successful cooperation on the Chang'e-4 and Chang'e-6, putting a number of instruments on board the lunar surface and also on orbiting missions. I think also there is also a share of samples that has returned from the Chang'e-6 [from the] far side of the moon is also a very exciting part. I think the key word is to share and to work together," Xu said.
"I was very glad to see the launch of Chang'e-6 thanks to the CNSA (China National Satellite Administration) and I was with a lot of teams from France, from different countries all participating and assisting the launch, and all put great payloads on this mission. And it's beautiful to see, and I think there should be more interviews, we should convey more information. And the academy has conveyed this information and will continue so far as transferring this international cooperation," said Contant.
Global partnerships to foster advancement of space probe payloads: experts
The high-quality development of east China's Shandong Province featuring innovation and green development has been providing opportunities to foreigners ranging from business promoters to even internet influencers.
As leader in the country's foreign trade, the coastal province of Shandong has been making consistent efforts to push forward its high-level opening-up.
In the first half of this year, Shandong imported and exported 1.62 trillion yuan (230 billion U.S. dollars) worth of goods, marking a 4.3-percent year-over-year increase, according to the customs data released in mid-July.
The province's export to regions like the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), the European Union (EU), South Korea, and Brazil continued growing during the period.
Ryan Norman, an American living in Rizhao City, has been witnessing all the changes for years as Shandong's close economic ties with the world have boosted its development.
By sharing short videos of him wondering in local markets and making dishes in a big wok, Ryan has attracted over one million followers on social media.
"I am Ryan Norman, an American from California. Now I am married with a Rizhao woman. I have been in China for 19 years. I did some business before, but in recent years I've been making short videos. If the weather is good, staying on beach makes me happier. There is a 28-kilometer sunshine seaside track and every summer, we run back and forth along the track," he said.
The high-quality development of Shandong comes together with green development. In 2023, the province generated over 158 billion kilowatt-hours of green power from new energy and renewables, increasing by 21.9 percent year on year and representing 24.4 percent of the total power generated, up 3.6 percent from 2022.
Last year, the province issued a three-year action plan on promoting green and low-carbon high-quality development, as the province is set to pursue a deep integration of culture and tourism.
"As the environment is getting better and better, more locals like to visit our tea tourism cultural park and its good reputation has attracted droves of tourists," said Yan Zaoning, director of a local tea park.
Sebastian Valcic from Germany now works in an innovation zone in Jinan, the provincial capital of Shandong. He said in recent years, he witnessed over 500 enterprises from countries like Germany, France, Finland, and Japan setting branches in the innovation zone, and these changes boosted his confidence in China's high-quality development.
"Thanks to the institutional and mechanism reform of the Jinan Innovation Zone, I, as a German, can have the opportunity to join the investment promotion department of the Jinan Innovation Zone management committee. I am responsible for attracting global investment. Over the recent years, our team has signed over 100 projects. The Jinan Innovation Zone is a national new- and high-tech development zone, a free trade zone, a comprehensive bonded zone, a pilot zone for upgrading development engine, and a sci-tech innovation financial reform pilot zone. The innovation zone has so many institutional innovations and preferential policies for expanding opening-up. Every time we have an investment promotion event, I always want the investors to know how special here is," said Sebastian Valcic, an external liaison officer of the management committee's investment promotion department.
Apart from attracting investment, Sebastian Valcic said his team will also work to connect enterprises so that they can cooperate with potential partners up and down the industrial chain.
"We will introduce companies up and down the industrial chain to the enterprises so that they can connect, communicate, and cooperate with one another," he said.
According to its three-year action plan, Shandong will continue to enhance the quality and level of its trade and investment by enhancing the efficiency of using foreign investment and deepening international economic and trade cooperation.
Shandong high-quality development provides opportunities to international firms, individuals
