Tech

Chang’e-5 samples suggest exploitable water resources on the moon

Published

1 year ago

13/12/2022

BEIJING, Dec. 13 (Xinhua) — By studying lunar samples retrieved by the Chang’e-5 mission, Chinese scientists found that lunar soil grains retain more solar wind-implanted water at the middle latitude region than previously thought.

Based on this finding, the scientists predict that there is a large amount of water resources available for utilization at the high latitude region of the moon.

Scientists had previously discovered the presence of surficial water on the moon. They believed that solar wind implantation, volcanic outgassing, and asteroid/comet impacts are likely to be important sources of surficial water on the moon.

But how does water reach and remain on the moon? How much water is in the lunar soil? How is the water distributed spatially? A study of the lunar soil samples returned by China’s Chang’e-5 mission has shed new light on these questions.

In this diagram drawn on Nov. 23, 2022, hydrogen ions from the Sun are implanted into the lunar surface at a high speed and are preserved in the surface layer of lunar soil grains. (IGGCAS/Handout via Xinhua)

The research team, jointly led by scientists from the National Space Science Center (NSSC) and the Institute of Geology and Geophysics (IGG), both under the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS), published the new findings on Tuesday in the latest edition of the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

Lin Yangting, a researcher at the IGG who led the study, explained that the water they refer to is not water in the usual sense, but the structural water found in soil grains. Since hydrogen is one of the main components of water, the hydrogen concentration is usually used to express the water content.

The research team selected 17 lunar soil grains, including olivine, pyroxene, plagioclase and glass, from Chang’e-5 samples and carried out experimental analysis of the hydrogen content and isotopes using a newly-developed profiling technique on a nanoscale secondary ion mass spectrometer.

The scientists found that the average water content in the topmost 0.1-micron zone of the lunar grains is 0.7 weight percent, rather high for nonaqueous minerals. They then proved through the deuterium-hydrogen ratios that the water on the lunar surface was solely derived from the solar wind.

“The hydrogen ions emitted from the Sun reach at an average speed of 450 kilometers per second and they hit the surface of the lunar soil grains like bullets,” said Tian Hengci, the paper’s co-first author, an associate professor at the IGG.

Based on the analysis of heating experiments, the research team conducted the simulations on the preservation of hydrogen in lunar soils at different temperatures, and the results showed that the solar wind-originated water could be well preserved in the middle and high latitude regions of the lunar surface.

Previously, scientists were unable to use the returned samples to study the possible influence of latitude on water content on the lunar surface, since the lunar samples collected by the Apollo missions of the United States and the Luna missions of the Soviet Union were all from the low latitude areas of the moon.

China’s Chang’e-5 mission successfully retrieved 1,731 grams of lunar samples at the end of 2020. The probe landed at 43.06 degrees north latitude of the moon, higher than the latitudes of the landing sites of the Apollo and Luna missions. In addition, the crystallization age of the basalt in the Chang’e-5 landing area is about 2 billion years old, much younger than the sampling areas of the Apollo and Luna missions.

“The Chang’e-5 samples provided us with the opportunity to study the evolution of solar wind, and the implantation and migration of water on the lunar surface,” said Xu Yuchen, the co-first author of the paper from the NSSC.

The research team built a dynamic equilibrium model between hydrogen implantation by solar wind and diffusion loss by heating, based on the analysis results of the Chang’e-5 samples and the experimental data of the Apollo samples.

The model predicted that lunar grains in the high latitude region contain more solar wind-delivered water in their rims. The topmost 0.1-micron zone of the lunar grains could contain as much as 8.5 weight percent of water. And if the lunar soils are sorted by particle size, the water content in the particles less than 2 microns could reach 2 weight percent.

“This discovery is of great significance for the future utilization of water resources on the moon. China plans to build a scientific research station in the south polar region of the moon. Our research shows that the south polar region of the moon may have more water than previously thought. And it is relatively easy to exploit and use the water contained in the lunar soil through particle size sorting and heating,” said Lin.

Source(s): Xinhua

Tech

UN adopts first global artificial intelligence resolution to ensure AI is safe

Published

1 month ago

23/03/2024

The United Nations General Assembly unanimously adopted the first global resolution on artificial intelligence on Thursday, encouraging countries to safeguard human rights, protect personal data, and monitor AI for risks.

The nonbinding resolution, proposed by the United States and co-sponsored by China along with over 120 other nations, also advocates for the strengthening of privacy policies.

“Today, all 193 members of the United Nations General Assembly have spoken in one voice, and together, chosen to govern artificial intelligence rather than let it govern us,” U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Linda Thomas-Greenfield said.

The resolution is the latest in a series of initiatives – few of which carry significant enforceability – by governments around the world to shape AI’s development amid fears it could disrupt democratic processes, turbocharge fraud, or lead to dramatic job losses, among other harms.

“The improper or malicious design, development, deployment and use of artificial intelligence systems … pose risks that could … undercut the protection, promotion and enjoyment of human rights and fundamental freedoms,” the measure states.

In November, the U.S., Britain and more than a dozen other countries unveiled the first detailed international agreement on how to keep artificial intelligence safe from rogue actors, pushing for companies to create AI systems that are “secure by design.”

Europe is ahead of the United States, with EU lawmakers adopting a provisional agreement this month to oversee the technology. The Biden administration has been pressing lawmakers for AI regulation, but a polarized U.S. Congress has made little headway. In the meantime, the White House sought to reduce AI risks to consumers, workers, and minorities while also bolstering national security with a new executive order in October.

The resolution aims to close the digital divide between rich developed countries and poorer developing countries to ensure that all are included in discussions on AI. It also aims to ensure that developing countries have the technology and capabilities to take advantage of AI’s benefits, including detecting diseases, predicting floods, helping farmers, and training the next generation of workers.

The resolution recognizes the rapid acceleration of AI development and use and stresses “the urgency of achieving global consensus on safe, secure and trustworthy artificial intelligence systems.”

It also acknowledges that “the governance of artificial intelligence systems is an evolving area” that requires further discussions on possible governance approaches and emphasizes that innovation and regulation are mutually reinforcing – not mutually exclusive.

Source(s): CGTN

Tech

Beijing still tops Nature Index global science city rankings

Published

1 month ago

19/03/2024

Beijing has consistently ranked first in the global science city rankings for eight consecutive years, as measured by the Nature Index, according to Yin Yong, deputy secretary of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Beijing Municipal Committee and mayor of Beijing.

Nature Index tracks the authorship of articles in prestigious research journals and Beijing’s ranking has shown that the city remains the top science city in the world.

On Tuesday, China’s State Council Information Office held a press conference on leveraging Beijing’s strategic role as the national capital, initiating a new chapter in high-quality development. Yin made the remarks while he answered questions from the media at the press conference.

Yin also introduced the capital’s achievement in seeking scientific and technological innovation and attracting high-level talent in science and technology.

Beijing has 92 colleges and universities, and more than 1,000 research institutes and its numbers of national laboratories and large scientific installations are ranked first in the country.

Beijing’s investment in research and development has also been among the largest in the country. Every 10,000 people in Beijing hold an average of over 262 invention patents, ranking first in China.

The capital has a large talent pool with more than 550,000 scientific researchers. In the field of artificial intelligence, for instance, Beijing’s top talent accounts for about 43 percent of the country’s total.

An average of 337 technology-based enterprises are established in Beijing every day, and the number of national high-tech enterprises and unicorn enterprises rank first among all cities in the country.

Source(s): CGTN

Tech

Newly operated Hydro-floating solar project showcases China-Thailand cooperation in clean energy

Published

2 months ago

06/03/2024

KHON KAEN, Thailand, March 5 (Xinhua) — A hydro-floating solar project jointly built by Chinese and Thai companies started commercial operation on Tuesday to support Thailand’s development of clean energy.

The Ubolratana Dam hydro-floating solar hybrid power plant, located in Thailand’s northeastern Khon Kaen province, integrates floating solar panels, clean hydropower, high-efficiency energy storage systems, and smart energy management systems, according to Dongfang Electric International Corporation, one of the world’s largest manufacturers of power-generating equipment that built the project with its Thai partner.

Jiraporn Sirikum, deputy governor of the Electricity Generating Authority of Thailand (EGAT), said building floating solar hybrid power plants is an important step toward the clean energy production and power stability of Thailand, praising the Chinese and the Thai companies for being able to deliver the project ahead of schedule.

“This showed a serious commitment to promoting clean energy in Thailand. We sincerely hope that the floating solar will help to promote clean energy for the community economy and local society,” Jiraporn told a commercial operation launching ceremony.

Liu Hongmei, Chinese Consul General in Khon Kaen, said she believed that the project’s commercial operation would bring greater well-being to the people of Northeast Thailand and mark a new milestone for Chinese enterprise investment in the region.

The Ubolratana Dam hydro-floating solar hybrid power plant is its second such hydro-floating solar project, said EGAT, which aims to build more such projects nationwide to promote clean energy.

Source(s): Xinhua