Special thermal insulation coatings have been applied to China's Chang'e-6 lunar probe to help its components navigate treacherous space environments and successfully come back to the Earth after finishing the sample collecting mission.
The return capsule of Chang'e-6 on Tuesday brought back the first ever samples from the moon's far side, marking another milestone in China's space exploration endeavors.
A kind of small device called the attitude control thrusters play a key role during Chang'e-6's return trip, which can accurately control the direction and attitude of the spacecraft.
The moon is about 384000 km away from the Earth and the Chang'e-6 flies a longer route as it had to make multiple orbit corrections before entering the Earth's orbit and landing accurately at the designated site. The attitude control engines must endure high temperatures when they were ignited for orbit corrections.
The speaker-shaped engines are coated with thermal insulation and oxidation-resistant materials developed by the Shanghai Institute of Ceramics under the Chinese Academy of Sciences, according to Meng Jia, a senior engineer with the institute.
For different parts of the lunar probe, the Shanghai Institute of Ceramics has developed more than 10 kinds of inorganic thermal control coatings featuring a variety of technological processes. These materials can ensure the normal operation of instruments and equipment aboard Chang'e-6 in extremely harsh environments.
"How it works? We apply a thermal insulation coating to the engine's nozzle where the temperature is the highest to keep its working temperature at around 30 degrees Celsius," said Feng aihu, associate researcher at the Shanghai Institute of Ceramics.
"This material is relatively light, can absorb and insulate heat and radiates very little heat outward, so it is a key component to keep the return capsule's temperature within a certain range during the return process," said Yu Yang, senior engineer at the Shanghai Institute of Ceramics.
Special insulation materials ensure Chang'e-6 probe's safely return to Earth
In the face of deliberate distortion of the history of the South China Sea, there is an urgent need to re-establish the truth, some Chinese and foreign scholars have proposed.
A workshop on the history and the laws governing the South China Sea was held in Haikou City of South China's Hainan Province on Tuesday, with the attendance of more than 100 experts and scholars from various countries and regions.
At the workshop, experts and scholars conducted in-depth discussions on topics such as the sovereignty of the South China Sea islands, the political and legal implications of the South China Sea historical archives.
In recent times, the Philippines has frequently provoked China on the South China Sea issue. In this regard, the participants clearly pointed out that the South China Sea islands have been China's territory since ancient times and China has indisputable sovereignty over them.
The Chinese people were the first to discover, name and develop these islands and related waters. It was the Chinese administration that first exercised jurisdiction over them - a practice that has continued in a peaceful and effective manner without interruption. China has sufficient historical and legal basis for its territorial sovereignty over the islands and surrounding waters.
Regarding the continuous turmoil caused by the Philippines in the South China Sea, Mark Hoskin, professor of the Department of English and International Affairs at China Foreign Affairs University and member of the London Court of International Arbitration, analyzed that there are economic reasons behind this.
"This is no more than the Philippines doing what for generations it has done - trying to claim more and more maritime territory of the islands. And the reason for that is very simple. About 90 percent of the reefs of the islands off the Philippines have been destroyed, along with the mangrove swamps. So, the main fishery grounds that they relied on traditionally are no longer there," said Hoskin,
On June 14, 2024, the Philippines submitted information to the UN Commission on the Limits of the Continental Shelf on the extent of its undersea shelf in the South China Sea where it sought to have the exclusive right to exploit resources.
Experts and scholars attending the workshop agreed that this unilateral move is aimed at stirring up the South China Sea situation and seeking support from countries outside the region for its illegal claims.
"I believe there are considerations for confirming the arbitration and consolidating the Philippines' illegal gains. Moreover, just like the first 'arbitration award' in 2013, there are underlying factors. I think it's possible that countries outside the region like the United States have given the Philippines advice. This submission caused the tense situation in the South China Sea," said Wu Shicun, president of Huayang Center for Maritime Cooperation and Ocean Governance.
China has reiterated its stance on the Philippines' frequent provocations in the South China Sea, urging the Philippine side to stop infringements and provocations, and misleading the international community.
South China Sea history needs to be told correctly: global scholars
