New book explores China's vision for deep space exploration

Wu Weiren, chief designer of China's lunar exploration program and an academician of the Chinese Academy of Engineering, has published a new book on deep space travel and exploration.

More than 150 people attended the launch ceremony for Interstellar Travel and Exploration, held at Beihang University in Beijing on Sunday. Participants included officials from relevant government departments and research institutions, nine academicians from the Chinese Academy of Sciences and the Chinese Academy of Engineering, as well as teachers and students from multiple middle schools in Beijing.

Zhao Changlu, Party secretary of Beihang University, said the publication coincided with the fifth anniversary of the university's School of Future Aerospace Technology. He said the school has focused on talent cultivation and scientific innovation in deep space exploration in line with the country's aerospace development strategy, adding that Wu's book will provide systematic support for teaching and research in the field.

Wu said he has spent nearly 50 years in the space industry and has witnessed China's leapfrog development in deep space exploration. In 2021, he led researchers from multiple domestic institutions in co-authoring the book. The team spent five years writing and refining the manuscript.

Wu also outlined the country's long-term deep space exploration plan. The Chang'e 7 mission will land at the moon's south pole in the second half of this year to search for water ice; a manned lunar landing is scheduled to take place around 2030; and the Tianwen 3 mission will return samples from Mars.

He said that with continued technological breakthroughs, interstellar travel is no longer an unattainable dream.

Comprising 10 chapters in four sections, the book systematically explains the basic theories, scientific issues, key technologies, engineering missions and development trends related to interstellar travel, drawing on recent domestic and international mission experience.

According to its editors at Science Press, the book will serve as a valuable reference for aerospace researchers and general readers interested in the field, as well as a teaching resource for relevant university majors.