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Lunar mission is latest milestone in China's space ambitions – Toronto Star

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WENCHANG, China – China’s latest trip to the moon is another milestone in the Asian powerhouse’s slow but steady ascent to the stars.

China became the third country to put a person into orbit 17 years ago and the first to land on the far side of the moon in 2019. Future ambitions include a permanent space station and putting people back on the moon more than 50 years after the U.S. did.

But even before the latest lunar mission lifted off before dawn Tuesday, a top program official maintained that China isn’t competing with anyone.

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“China will set its development goals in the space industry based on its own considerations of science and engineering technology,“ Pei Zhaoyu, deputy director of the Lunar Exploration and Space Engineering Center at the China National Space Administration, told reporters hours before the Chang’e 5 mission was launched.

“We do not place rivals (before us) when setting those goals,” Pei said.

Whether that is true or not is debatable. China has a national plan aimed at joining the United States, Europe and Japan in the top ranks of technology producers, and the space program has been a major component of that. It also is a source of national pride to lift the reputation of the ruling Communist Party.

What’s clear is that China’s cautious, incremental approach has racked up success after success since it first put a person in space in 2003, joining the former Soviet Union and the United States. That has been followed by more crewed missions, the launch of a space lab, the placing of a rover on the moon’s relatively unexplored far side and, this year, an operation to land on Mars.

The Chang’e 5 mission, if successful, would be the first time moon rocks and debris are brought to Earth since a 1976 Soviet mission. The four modules of the spacecraft blasted off atop a massive Long March-5Y rocket from the Wenchang launch centre on Hainan island.

The mission’s main task is to drill 2 metres (about 7 feet) into the moon’s surface and scoop up about 2 kilograms (4.4 pounds) of rocks and other debris. The lander will deposit them in an ascender. A return capsule will deliver them back to Earth, landing on the grasslands of the Inner Mongolia region in mid-December.

“Pulling off the Chang’e 5 mission would be an impressive feat for any nation,“ said Florida-based expert Stephen Clark of the publication Spaceflight Now.

China prides itself on arriving at this point largely through its own efforts, although Russia helped early on with astronaut training and China’s crewed Shenzhou space capsule is based on Russia’s Soyuz.

While there has been collaboration with some other nations, notably those belonging to the European Space Agency, which has provided tracking support for Chinese missions, the United States isn’t one of them.

U.S. law requires Congressional approval for co-operation between NASA and China’s military-linked program. Ongoing political and economic disputes, notably accusations that China steals or compels the transfer of sensitive trade secrets, appear to dim the prospects for closer ties.

China’s space program has at times been seen as recreating achievements attained years ago by others, primarily the U.S. and the former Soviet Union. Even China’s permanent space station, now under construction, is partly a response to its exclusion from the International Space Station, mainly at the insistence of the U.S.

Other countries are also forging ahead, underscored by the dramatic landing of America’s Curiosity Mars rover in 2012 and the return to Earth next month of Japan’s explorer Hayabusa2 with samples collected from the asteroid Ryugu.

Still, China can boast an “increasingly sophisticated and demonstrated space expertise,“ said Henry Hertzfeld, director of the Space Policy Institute at George Washington University’s Elliot School of International Affairs.

Lunar exploration remains a priority for China, something that in the future will likely take the form of “a human-machine combination,” Pei told reporters.

No target date for a crewed moon mission has been announced, but Pei said a goal down the line is to build an international lunar research station that can provide long-term support for scientific exploration activities on the lunar surface.

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“We will determine when to implement a manned lunar landing based on scientific needs and technical and economic conditions,“ he said.

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AP researcher Liu Zheng in Beijing contributed to this report.

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New England College of Optometry Issues Safety Advisory for Solar Eclipse – New England College of Optometry

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NECO Issues Safety Advisory for Solar Eclipse – New England College of Optometry


Watching the celestial event safely is possible with the right equipment and some preparation.

With the upcoming total solar eclipse on April 8, 2024, the New England College of Optometry (NECO) urges the general public to observe this celestial phenomenon safely. Solar eclipses are rare events that spark widespread interest and excitement. To ensure everyone can enjoy the eclipse without risking their vision, NECO is sharing crucial guidelines for proper viewing.  

“Solar eclipses present a wonderful opportunity for communities to engage with astronomy, but it’s vital that safety is a  priority,” says George Asimellis, PhD, Msc, MBA, Professor of Vision Science at NECO. “Viewing a solar eclipse without appropriate protection can result in solar retinopathy, which can cause lasting damage to the eyes. You must take proper precautions to view the eclipse.” PLEASE NOTE: NECO recommends that individuals who have recently undergone eye surgery or who have chronic eye conditions should refrain from viewing the eclipse. 

Student helps patient pick glasses frame

To prevent eye injuries and ensure a memorable experience, NECO advises the following: 

  • Always use solar viewing glasses. “When gearing up to watch the magical solar eclipse, it’s important to use specialized solar filters known as ‘eclipse glasses,’” says Alina Reznik, OD ’16, NECO Alumni Liaison. “These viewers adhere to the international safety standard ISO 12312-2 for safe viewing.” The ISO certification should be visible somewhere on the product. Ordinary sunglasses, even those with UV protection, are NOT safe for looking directly at the sun. They transmit thousands of times too much sunlight to be used for solar viewing.
  • If you wish to capture the event, do not look at the sun through camera viewfinders or phone cameras, as this can also lead to serious eye damage and can even destroy a phone. 
  • The safest way to view the eclipse is to create a camera obscura by finding a piece of cardboard and piercing a small hole in the center. With your back to the sun, hold the cardboard at shoulder height. In your other hand, hold a sheet of paper and align it with the cardboard until you see a tiny image of the sun projected onto the surface of the paper. You can even put cardboard around the “screen” to block out ambient light and see the eclipse image more clearly.

NECO will host an eclipse viewing party on Monday, April 8, from 2:00-4:00pm at their main campus located at 424 Beacon Street in Boston’s Back Bay. Media are welcome to attend and receive a free pair of eclipse viewing glasses. Faculty will be present to talk about the science behind safely viewing an eclipse.

The map below (courtesy of NASA) shows the eclipse’s path of totality.

For those who reside outside the path of totality: The Boston area is outside the eclipse’s path of totality. However, we will be able to view a partial eclipse starting at about 2:10pm. Our area will experience moderate darkness and a drop in temperature during the partial eclipse, which will last two hours. Eclipse glasses must still be used to protect  your eyes from the harmful rays of the sun, even during a partial eclipse!

Our vision experts are available for comment and additional information on eye care during this astronomical event. Please contact our Marketing Department by calling (617) 587-5609, or email [email protected].

For more information from national experts on the April 8 solar eclipse, visit NASA or the American Optometric Association.

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Global wildlife study during COVID-19 shows rural animals are more sensitive to human activity

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Plant-eating animals more active, carnivores more cautious around humans 

One of the largest studies on wildlife activity—involving more than 220 researchers, 163 mammal species and 5,000 camera traps worldwide—reveals that wild animals react differently to humans depending on where the animals live and what they eat.

Bigger herbivores—plant-eating animals like deer or moose—tend to become more active when humans are around, while meat-eaters like wolves or wolverines tend to be less active, preferring to avoid risky encounters.

Urban animals like deer or raccoons may become more active around people, as they get used to human presence and find food like garbage or plants, which they can access at night. But animals living farther from cities and other developed areas are more wary of encountering people.

Wildlife during the pandemic ‘anthropause’

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Dr. Cole Burton

The new study, a collaboration across researchers from 161 institutions, used data from before and during the COVID-19 lockdowns to examine wildlife behaviour amid changing human activity levels.

“COVID-19 mobility restrictions gave researchers a truly unique opportunity to study how animals responded when the number of people sharing their landscape changed drastically over a relatively short period,” said lead author Dr. Cole Burton, an associate professor of forest resources management at UBC and Canada Research Chair in Terrestrial Mammal Conservation.

“And contrary to the popular narratives that emerged around that time, we did not see an overall pattern of ‘wildlife running free’ while humans sheltered in place. Rather, we saw great variation in activity patterns of people and wildlife, with the most striking trends being that animal responses depended on landscape conditions and their position in the food chain.”

In Canada, researchers monitoring areas such as Banff and Pacific Rim national parks, Cathedral, Golden Ears and South Chilcotin Mountains provincial parks, and the Sea-to-Sky corridor in B.C. found that carnivores like wolverines, wolves and cougars were generally less active when human activity was higher.

In several of these parks, and in cities such as Edmonton, large herbivores often increased their activity but became more nocturnal with the presence of more humans. Large carnivores were notably absent from the most human-dominated landscapes.

A coyote warily investigating a camera trap in Malcolm Knapp Research
Forest, British Columbia, Canada. Photo credit: Dr. Cole Burton, UBC WildCo

Preventing conflict through smart conservation measures

These findings highlight the importance of measures to minimize any detrimental effects of human disturbance on wildlife, including reducing overlaps that might lead to conflict.

Dr. Kaitlyn Gaynor

“In remote areas with limited human infrastructure, the effects of our actual presence on wildlife may be particularly strong. To give wild animals the space they need, we may consider setting aside protected areas or movement corridors free of human activity, or consider seasonal restrictions, like temporary closures of campsites or hiking trails during migratory or breeding seasons,” said study co-author and UBC biologist Dr. Kaitlyn Gaynor.

She added that strategies must also fit specific species and locations. In more remote areas, keeping human activity low will be necessary to protect sensitive species. In areas where people and animals overlap more, such as cities, nighttime is an important refuge for wildlife, and keeping it that way can help species survive. Efforts may focus on reducing human-wildlife conflict after dark, such as more secure storage of trash bins to reduce the number of animals getting into human food sources, or use of road mitigation measures to reduce vehicle collisions.

The findings are particularly useful amid the surge in global travel and outdoor recreation post-pandemic, Dr. Burton added.

“Understanding how wildlife respond to human activity in various contexts helps us develop effective conservation plans that have local and global impact. For that reason, we are working to improve wildlife monitoring systems using tools like the camera traps that made it possible to observe animal behaviours during the pandemic.”

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Three Canadian Student CubeSats Set for ISS Launch

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Longueuil, Quebec, – On , three CubeSats designed and built by Canadian students will launch to the International Space Station (ISS).This is the fourth and final launch of miniature satellites under the Canadian CubeSat Project. The teams finalized preparations of their CubeSats in at the Canadian Space Agency (CSA). The teams are:

  • QMSat – Université de Sherbrooke
  • Killick-1 – Memorial University
  • VIOLET – University of New Brunswick

Live coverage of the launch will air on NASA Live.

/Public Release. This material from the originating organization/author(s) might be of the point-in-time nature, and edited for clarity, style and length. Mirage.News does not take institutional positions or sides, and all views, positions, and conclusions expressed herein are solely those of the author(s).View in full here.

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