China Launches Space Junk Monitoring Center

China， on June 8， launched a space junk monitoring center to protect its spacecraft in orbit. The center， which is managed by the State Administration of Science， Technology and Industry for National Defense（SASTIND） and the Chinese Academy of Sciences （CAS）， will track and monitor nearearth objects and space debris. It will also be used to develop emergency response plans， take measures in case of emergencies， and share data with international counterparts.

Xu Dazhe， head of SASTIND， said the center will utilize existing observatory facilities in China while taking advantage of surveillance data from both home and abroad to set up its own monitoring network for space debris.

Space debris is generally man-made litter left in space： parts of rocket launchers， inactive satellites， and broken remains of past collisions. Space debris can travel at an average speed of 10 kilometers per second. At that speed， even the smallest pieces of debris can damage or destroy spacecraft and satellites.

China now has 129 spacecraft orbiting the Earth， and has registered an average of 30 incidents each year where pieces of space junk have come dangerously close （less than 100 meters） to Chinese spacecraft.

China to Host World Robot Conference in November

The World Robot Conference 2015 will be held at Beijings National Convention Center from November 23 to 25， organizers announced on June 5. Jointly held by China Association for Science and Technology （CAST） and the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology， the event will include a forum， an exhibition， and an international robot competition for teenagers.

Vice Minister Mao Weiming revealed that sales of industrial robots in China hit 57，000 last year， marking a year-on-year increase of 55 percent and a quarter of global sales. However， Mao noted Chinas inadequate independent production capacity of high-end robots.

According to senior CAST official Wang Chunfa， speakers from China， Germany， the United States， and Japan will deliver reports on such topics as robot research and technology development， and the latest products and research findings will be showcased during the three-day event. The competition plans to invite 130 teams from more than 10 countries and regions.

Organizers estimate that some 40，000 people will take part in the conference.

China Successfully Updates Geo-databaseendprint

China has solved a major scientific conundrum by updating the geographic information of the worlds third largest country in terms of land area. The National Administration of Surveying， Mapping and Geoinformation announced the completion of the 2014 version of Chinas geo-database， meaning all data are accurate up to last year.

The database will be used for irrigation projects， transportation， land， agriculture， forestry， environment， rural and urban planning， and national defense. The updated database， encompassing 24，000 pictures， shows that China added about 6，000 km of railways， 7，000 km of highways， 34，000 km of national or provincial expressways， and 138，000 km of county roads to the existing transportation network in 2014. About 9，000 square km of urban blocks were created last year with 9，000 km of new power lines of more than 500 kilowatts in place. More than 830，000 geographical names were changed and 350，000 place names created.

China boasts a vast and complicated geography that changes rapidly， creating barriers for frequent data updating. Other large countries， such as Russia， Canada， Brazil， and Australia， have not yet completed their geo-database construction.

China， Europe Announce Joint Satellite Mission

The Chinese Academy of Sciences （CAS） and the European Space Agency （ESA） have revealed that their joint space satellite program will focus on an X-ray imaging satellite to study the Earths magnetosphere， CAS announced on June 5.

The project， known as SMILE （Solar Wind Magnetosphere Ionosphere Link Explorer）， is due to launch in 2021. It plans to study the effects of the sun on the Earths environment by creating images of the interactions between solar winds and the Earths magnetosphere with innovative X-ray and ultraviolet technologies.

SMILE will be the first comprehensive collaboration between China and the ESA with joint efforts in definition， implementation， and data utilization， CAS said， adding that the next step will be a project feasibility study.

Previously， the ESA contributed to Chinas Double Star， a similar satellite mission launched in 2003 to focus on the impact of the sun on the Earths environment.endprint