Chinese commercial space companies aim high for expanding lunar activity at Hefei conference

The International Deep Space Exploration (Tiandu) Conference run from Thurday from Friday in Hefei, capital of east China's Anhui Province, where Chinese commercial space companies laid out their plans for expanding lunar activity.

At the event, firms presented lunar ambitions ranging from rovers and robotics to rockets and visions for long-term human stays, marking what Wu Weiren, director of the Deep Space Exploration Laboratory and a Chinese academician, called "the age of commercial lunar exploration" in his opening keynote speech.

Among the active players, Galactic Energy celebrated the successful maiden flight of its medium-lift liquid rocket PALLAS-1 on Tuesday and is now preparing the larger PALLAS-2 for potential lunar and deep-space missions. Xia Dongkun, the company's executive president, said the goal is to access rare earth elements and other resources on the Moon and asteroids, which are far more abundant than on Earth.

Guangzhou-based CAS Space also shared footage of its Kinastra-1 upper stage, which is set to carry out the company's first lunar mission. The stage is expected to place a satellite into a trans-lunar transfer trajectory in the first quarter of 2027.

"Building on the successful maiden-flight verification, we will focus on advancing a three-step plan for deep-space applications -- helping unlock the trillion-yuan value of the space economy," said Zhu Qinglin, deputy chief designer of the Kinastra-1 upper stage.

Beyond technology demonstrations, the conference was aimed to lay the groundwork for sustainable and inclusive deep space exploration. Organizers announced that the China-led Cislunar CubeSat Constellation (C3) Program will be open to scientists and institutions worldwide, giving developing countries opportunities to participate in deep-space missions.

"It gets busier. We have more actors. It's more accessible in that sense, which is a good thing. But it's maybe for the first time in human history that we are trying to get to the moon with some mechanism already in place -- these principles for everyone's benefit and go there. With those principles very well understood, so that it can be, in a way or another, sustainable for the future," said Ulpia-Elena Botezatu, co-chair of UN-COPUOS Action Team on Lunar Activities Consultation.

Chinese commercial space companies aim high for expanding lunar activity at Hefei conference

Using nothing but traditional hammers and chisels, craftsmen in Damascus are transforming spent artillery shells into decorative art, turning remnants of war into emblems of resilience and peace.

"We wanted to engrave patterns on the remnants of war," said Ahmad Baqbouq, a Syrian copper craftsman. 

"The patterns are either Islamic patterns, geometric patterns, birds, or Damascene jasmine. It's a message to the coming generation that this piece, when used as a decoration at home, will remind them of what happened in Damascus," he said.

The shells, blackened and coated in soot at the outset, must first be painstakingly polished before any engraving can begin. Because these munitions were built to withstand extreme pressure, the metal is far thicker and tougher than ordinary brass, making the work considerably more difficult.

Yet through sheer perseverance, the artisans have managed to improvise an array of intricate, beautiful patterns.

But for Baqbouq, the mission goes beyond art. "Our ultimate goal is to revive crafts in Damascus so they can be as successful as before," he said. "We want people to come to buy Damascus steel swords, Damascus mosaics, Aghabani embroidery, and damask. Those crafts have reached the point at which they are on the verge of extinction."

Artisans in Damascus make art from symbols of war