Not satisfied with what nature provided? Well, China has unveiled its intention to debut an artificial Moon in 2020. I wish I could tell you that this is a joke, but it’s not.
Chinese Outlet, People’s Daily, noted that the idea is to supplement the illumination from the natural moon in the city of Chengdu. How crazy this idea sound?
According to Wu Chunfeng, the chairman of Chengdu aerospace Science and Technology micro electronics system Research Institute company spoke about the project at a recent innovation conference in China.
Testing of the satellite started years ago, and the technology has finally caught up to be able to put the idea into practice.
According to People’s Daily the illumination satellite will be 8 times brighter than its natural counterpart and could replace the streetlights.
Critics have raised concerns about its impact on astronomical studies and the natural cycles of some animals.
Last year, a team of scientists from Russia attempted something similar by deploying what they called ‘the brightest object in the night sky, after the moon’. Know as the Mayak satellite, it was launched from Baikonur spaceport in July 2017, but few weeks later the team behind the project revealed the solar reflector failed to deploy once the satellite was in orbit.
Join our list
Subscribe to our mailing list and get interesting stuff and updates to your email inbox.
Thank you for subscribing.
Something went wrong.
