Work starts on telescope to assist lunar missions

CHANGCHUN — China on Wednesday started the construction of a 40-meter-aperture radio telescope in the Changbai Mountain area in the northeastern province of Jilin, to support future lunar and deep-space probe missions.

Developed by the Shanghai Astronomical Observatory of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, the optical instrument is designed to be a large, fully movable, high-precision multipurpose radio telescope.

Scientists believe the Changbai Mountain area is an ideal site for telescope observation due to its clear skies and dry climate.

Upon completion, the telescope will form a network with five others nationwide and one data processing center in Shanghai, increasing the country's observation capacity and better serving its deep-space exploration.

The facility will also enhance China's radio astronomy research and promote more innovative achievements in researching various cutting-edge fields, including supermassive black holes and galactic dynamics.

China announced earlier this year that it will continue its lunar research with several planned missions, including one task to bring 2 kilograms of samples from the far side of the moon back to Earth.

According to the observatory, the construction of the telescope and its station will be completed by the end of next year.

Xinhua