Nigeria Times

By Liu Shiyao, People’s Daily

China’s 40th Antarctic expedition successfully concluded as Xuelong, the country’s first domestically built polar icebreaker, returned to a port in Qingdao, east China’s Shandong province on April 10.

This year marks the 40th anniversary of China’s polar expedition. Over the past four decades, China has continuously strengthened its comprehensive capabilities in polar expedition and actively cooperated with relevant countries, making significant contributions to better understanding, protecting, and utilizing the polar regions.

As a roaring sound grew closer, a red and white Snow Eagle 601, China’s first fixed-wing aircraft for polar flight, touched down on the airport of the Zhongshan Station, a Chinese scientific research base in Antarctica.

This marked a major milestone of China’s 40th Antarctic expedition team, with the completion of an aerial scientific survey of ice sheet margins of the Queen Maud Land and the Enderby Land, a major international polar cooperation project.

The Antarctic ice sheet, a vast expanse of ice covering the continent, is experiencing mass loss due to global warming, creating uncertainty in predicting future sea level rise.

To calculate the mass loss, the key lies in gathering two critical statistics: the speed of ice movement and ice thickness at the margins of the ice sheet. The most effective way to obtain ice thickness is through aerial surveys using the airborne “ice radar.”

In 2021, the Scientific Committee on Antarctic Research (SCAR) established the RINGS Action Group (hereafter referred to as “the RINGS”) to collect data on ice thickness and sub-ice terrain along the margins of the Antarctic ice sheet through international cooperative aerial observations. So far, 82 scientists from 18 countries have joined the RINGS.

In 2023, the RINGS launched its first international collaborative program for aerial scientific exploration in the data-deficient regions of the Queen Maud Land and the Enderby Land. China was a major initiator of the program.

“The complex meteorological conditions at the margins of the Antarctic ice sheet posed a major challenge for the aerial survey. Besides, it involved extensive international communication and coordination across all aspects,” said Cui Xiangbin, a researcher with the Center for Polar Ice & Snow and Climate Change Research in the Polar Research Institute of China under the Chinese Ministry of Natural Resources.

According to Cui, with a surveyed length of 7,200 kilometers and a total flight time of around 28 hours, the program successfully mitigated data shortages.

Following the completion of the program, China would share the observation data collected by Snow Eagle 601 with other countries and collaborate on joint research projects, so as to provide valuable information for scientists around the world to study the rapid changes of the Antarctic ice sheet and the rise in global sea levels.

Kenichi Matsuoka, chair of the RINGS and professor with the Norwegian Polar Institute, has expressed his appreciation to China’s 40th Antarctic expedition team for their valuable contributions in a recent email.

Besides, the Chinese team has carried out multiple international cooperation projects during the 40th Antarctic expedition.

At the end of December 2023, Zhang Nan, a member of China’s 40th Antarctic expedition team and professor with the College of Construction Engineering, Jilin University, obtained ice core samples with his team by the side of the Dålk Glacier in the Larsemann Hills in southeast Antarctica, about 25 kilometers away from China’s Zhongshan Station. Besides, they have drilled a 48-centimeter-long sample of subglacial bedrock. This marked an important breakthrough in Antarctic geological studies.

This breakthrough was jointly achieved by China’s Jilin University, China University of Geosciences, Beijing, and the All-Russia Scientific Research Institute for Geology and Mineral Resources of the Ocean.

“For more than two months, Chinese and Russian scientists worked hand in hand and fostered a profound friendship,” Zhang told People’s Daily.

According to Zhang, the successful retrieval of the subglacial bedrock sample marked the world’s first targeted geological survey and sampling of subglacial bedrock within the deep Antarctic ice sheet. In this process, Chinese and foreign researchers exchanged experience, learned from each other, and engaged in in-depth discussions on technical issues, he added.

On February 7 this year, China’s Qinling Station in Antarctica, the country’s fifth research station in the continent, started operation on Inexpressible Island in the Ross Sea.

As planned, the Qinling Station will collaborate with research stations from other countries, transform its marine laboratory into an international cooperation platform, and set a model of international cooperation in Antarctic research along the coast of the Ross Sea.

The polar scientific expedition holds immense importance and is a noble endeavor benefiting humanity. Ever since initiating polar exploration 40 years ago, China has been actively involved in almost all major international observation and research programs in Antarctica and the Southern Ocean. It has also actively sent personnel to participate in Antarctic expeditions in other countries, while gradually expanding its international cooperation in the Arctic.

Chinese polar expedition members in Antarctica have always lived in harmony with their international counterparts, and have offered emergency international rescue assistance in times of need.

By Yu Sinan, Liu Shiyao, Pang Dan, People’s Daily

The ascender of China’s Chang’e-6 probe lifted off from lunar surface on June 4, carrying samples collected from the moon’s far side, an unprecedented feat in human lunar exploration history.  Now it has entered a preset orbit around the moon.

The probe previously landed at the designated landing area in the South Pole-Aitken (SPA) Basin on the far side of the moon at 6:23 a.m., on June 2.

The lander-ascender combination of the Chang’e-6 probe touched down after reducing its relative speed to zero in 15 minutes, under the precise control of the Beijing Aerospace Control Center.

Chang’e-6 consists of an orbiter, a returner, a lander and an ascender. Since its launch on May 3 this year, it has been staying in orbit for about 30 days.

Before its landing, the lander-ascender combination separated from the orbiter-returner combination that kept flying around the moon.

Apart from making a soft landing on the far side of the moon, Chang’e-6 would also collect lunar soil beyond the moon’s visible face, said Ge Ping, spokesperson for the Chang’e-6 mission.

According to him, the mission involves many engineering innovations, high risks and great difficulty, and manifests the wisdom of scientists.

Landing on the far side of the moon requires choosing the right location first. Compared to the near side of the moon where Chang’e-5 landed, the far side features a more rugged topography. The pre-selected landing area, the SPA Basin, is generally lower in elevation and has a higher density of impact craters, which posed greater challenges for site selection as the terrain’s shadows and obstructions are unfavorable for lighting and surveys.

In order to find an ideal landing site, the development team of Chang’e-6 drew upon previous experience in site selection and established a set of methods tailored for landing on the far side of the moon, said a developer of Chang’e-6 from China Academy of Space Technology (CAST).

For example, researchers utilized 7-meter resolution orthoimages of the entire lunar surface and 20-meter resolution digital elevation models produced from data obtained by the Chang’e-2 probe to identify relatively flat areas with gentle slopes as potential landing sites for Chang’e-6, the developer told People’s Daily.

Since the landing site of Chang’e-6 is on the far side of the moon, the landing process couldn’t be observed from Earth. Even though the probe is capable of autonomous landing, it is crucial to have the ability to monitor real-time data and issue control commands for keeping the “family on Earth” informed about the mission’s progress.

In March this year, China’s Queqiao-2 relay satellite was sent to orbit in advance to ensure that Chang’e-6 would not “get lost” on the far side of the moon, building a bridge for Earth-moon communications.

Two rounds of obstacle avoidance were crucial for the landing of Chang’e-6 on the far side of the moon.

An expert told People’s Daily that under the intelligent and autonomous control of the guidance, navigation and control system, the lander-ascender combination would rapidly adjust its attitude while descending, take photos of and analyze the pre-selected landing area, and avoid large obstacles, thereby selecting the most proper landing site. The system would then order the lander-ascender combination to fly towards the selected area. This is the first round of obstacle avoidance, also known as “general avoidance.”

At a predetermined altitude closer to the lunar surface, the lander-ascender combination would execute a critical short hovering phase, take additional photos of the surface, accurately avoid obstacles, and pinpoint the final landing site. This is the second round of obstacle avoidance, known as “targeted avoidance.” Afterwards, it would descend vertically and slowly.

“Targeted avoidance” is a unique technology developed by China, which enables autonomous operation during the landing process. The successful landing of Chang’e-6 has advanced this technology.

The key to landing is to achieve a smooth touchdown. The landing of the lander-ascender combination would generate considerable impact loads. Therefore, a corresponding buffer mechanism must be designed to ensure the probe does not topple over or sink into the surface. For this purpose, the CAST has customized four lightweight and high-strength “legs” for Chang’e-6.

According to experts, each of the landing legs consists of a main leg, two secondary legs, and a foot pad. Prior to landing, the main and secondary legs, made of a new type of high-strength alloy material with special filling, would work collaboratively to support the body of the probe, transmitting and absorbing impact forces.

After landing, Chang’e-6 transmitted back images of the landing site and began its sample-retrieving operations on the far side of the moon. The retrieving operations adopted two methods of moon sampling, which included using a drill to collect subsurface samples and grabbing samples on the surface with a robotic arm.

It is reported that after completing its work on the lunar surface, Chang’e-6 will embark on its journey back home. It is scheduled to land in a designated area in north China’s Inner Mongolia autonomous region, thus concluding its trip lasting more than 50 days.

By Huan Yuping, People’s Daily

Security is a common need for countries around the world, but there are always some individuals who, under the guise of safeguarding security, deliberately create risks.

They view the interdependence formed among nations due to economic globalization as a threat and use the pretext of security to create scientific and technological barriers and sever industrial and supply chains, which causes impacts on global economic development and stability. This has raised widespread concerns in the international community.

The mindset of zero-sum game characterized by binary opposition has long been a thing of the past, and a genuinely secure world should be one featuring deep integration and interdependence. Creating division and confrontation with the zero-sum mentality goes against the goal of maintaining security and only leads to collective insecurity.

In 1996, American columnist Thomas Friedman proposed the theory of “Golden Arches Theory of Conflict Prevention,” suggesting that two countries that were sufficiently developed to support a McDonald’s would not fight each other because the benefits brought by economic globalization would outweigh the desire for war.

At that time, economic globalization was widely seen as a positive force beneficial to global development and security. However, today, with the trend of economic globalization, some individuals have developed an unfounded “cooperation phobia,” constantly seeing imaginary threats.

Some politicians from a few countries even openly claimed that modern cars are like “iPhones on wheels” capable of collecting vast amounts of information. “Imagine a world with 3 million Chinese vehicles on the roads of America, and Beijing can turn them off at the same time,” they said, absurdly.

This illogical reasoning has sparked widespread criticism and is seen as trade sanctions and protectionism disguised as national security concerns.

In this world shaped by economic globalization, goods, capital, people, and information flow around the world ceaselessly, and interdependence among nations has become the norm. Viewing the world through the mindset of zero-sum game and baselessly hyping so-called security threats are severely disconnected from realities and deviate from the historical trend of development.

Every country has security needs, but abusing the concept of security will only harm a country’s own security in the long run.

Currently, more and more scholars are warning that the United States is showing signs of falling into a trap of abusing the concept of security. Once obsessed with the so-called absolute security, and arbitrarily expanding the scope of security, the country would incline to closed-door policies and exclusion, resulting in misallocation and waste of development resources. Externally, it is prone to creating “imaginary enemies” and getting caught in zero-sum games, undermining normal international cooperation.

In recent years, a few countries have been aggressively seeking “friendshoring” and pursuing a “small yard, high fence” strategy, continuously abusing the concept of security. They have turned their mindset from “running faster than others” to “running faster by tripping others.”

This approach seriously damages global prosperity and stability.

Past and current experiences show that countries engaging in mutually beneficial cooperation based on market principles not only contribute to each other’s development but also help foster healthy and stable relationships.

Over the past few decades, the international system has maintained overall stability and order, which is to a large extent attributed to the continuously improving mutually beneficial cooperation amidst the tide of economic globalization.

Distorting and undermining mutually beneficial cooperation between countries in the name of so-called security will only exacerbate misunderstandings, erode mutual trust, disrupt international relations, and create security risks. From a long-term perspective, a world influenced by unilateralism and protectionism will be even more insecure.

In today’s world, the interests, prosperity and security of countries are closely intertwined. The world will never return to isolation. When considering security issues in the context of economic globalization, one must maintain an objective and dialectical perspective.

Firstly, it is important to abandon the misconception of absolute security and adhere to the concept of common security. Adopting a double standard of demanding other countries to open up while closing one’s own doors in the name of “de-risking” will only hinder both development and security, and ultimately lead to backfiring.

Secondly, all parties should recognize that seeking security and promoting cooperation are not contradictory, and that absence of cooperation is the biggest risk and lack of development the biggest insecurity. Risks should be reasonably defined and prevented, without equating interdependence with insecurity. Major economies that have a significant impact on the world economy, in particular, should balance security and open development with a rational attitude.

Thirdly, in the face of problems that arise in economic and trade cooperation, it is important to stop turning business relations into political, security or ideological issues. Instead, countries should strengthen dialogue, manage and resolve the issues in accordance with relevant international rules.

For emerging technologies such as artificial intelligence, all parties should enhance communication and coordination on reasonable security concerns, effectively safeguarding security and promoting development through global governance based on extensive consultation, joint contribution and shared benefits.

In today’s world, what countries truly need is mutual achievement, rather than zero-sum games. The international community should jointly promote a universally beneficial and inclusive economic globalization, resolutely oppose the attempt to roll back globalization and abuse the concept of security, and oppose all forms of unilateralism and protectionism. This way, people of all countries will be able to share in the benefits of economic globalization and global growth.

By Yu Sinan, Liu Shiyao, Pang Dan, People’s Daily

The ascender of China’s Chang’e-6 probe lifted off from lunar surface on June 4, carrying samples collected from the moon’s far side, an unprecedented feat in human lunar exploration history.  Now it has entered a preset orbit around the moon.

The probe previously landed at the designated landing area in the South Pole-Aitken (SPA) Basin on the far side of the moon at 6:23 a.m., on June 2.

The lander-ascender combination of the Chang’e-6 probe touched down after reducing its relative speed to zero in 15 minutes, under the precise control of the Beijing Aerospace Control Center.

Chang’e-6 consists of an orbiter, a returner, a lander and an ascender. Since its launch on May 3 this year, it has been staying in orbit for about 30 days.

Before its landing, the lander-ascender combination separated from the orbiter-returner combination that kept flying around the moon.

Apart from making a soft landing on the far side of the moon, Chang’e-6 would also collect lunar soil beyond the moon’s visible face, said Ge Ping, spokesperson for the Chang’e-6 mission.

According to him, the mission involves many engineering innovations, high risks and great difficulty, and manifests the wisdom of scientists.

Landing on the far side of the moon requires choosing the right location first. Compared to the near side of the moon where Chang’e-5 landed, the far side features a more rugged topography. The pre-selected landing area, the SPA Basin, is generally lower in elevation and has a higher density of impact craters, which posed greater challenges for site selection as the terrain’s shadows and obstructions are unfavorable for lighting and surveys.

In order to find an ideal landing site, the development team of Chang’e-6 drew upon previous experience in site selection and established a set of methods tailored for landing on the far side of the moon, said a developer of Chang’e-6 from China Academy of Space Technology (CAST).

For example, researchers utilized 7-meter resolution orthoimages of the entire lunar surface and 20-meter resolution digital elevation models produced from data obtained by the Chang’e-2 probe to identify relatively flat areas with gentle slopes as potential landing sites for Chang’e-6, the developer told People’s Daily.

Since the landing site of Chang’e-6 is on the far side of the moon, the landing process couldn’t be observed from Earth. Even though the probe is capable of autonomous landing, it is crucial to have the ability to monitor real-time data and issue control commands for keeping the “family on Earth” informed about the mission’s progress.

In March this year, China’s Queqiao-2 relay satellite was sent to orbit in advance to ensure that Chang’e-6 would not “get lost” on the far side of the moon, building a bridge for Earth-moon communications.

Two rounds of obstacle avoidance were crucial for the landing of Chang’e-6 on the far side of the moon.

An expert told People’s Daily that under the intelligent and autonomous control of the guidance, navigation and control system, the lander-ascender combination would rapidly adjust its attitude while descending, take photos of and analyze the pre-selected landing area, and avoid large obstacles, thereby selecting the most proper landing site. The system would then order the lander-ascender combination to fly towards the selected area. This is the first round of obstacle avoidance, also known as “general avoidance.”

At a predetermined altitude closer to the lunar surface, the lander-ascender combination would execute a critical short hovering phase, take additional photos of the surface, accurately avoid obstacles, and pinpoint the final landing site. This is the second round of obstacle avoidance, known as “targeted avoidance.” Afterwards, it would descend vertically and slowly.

“Targeted avoidance” is a unique technology developed by China, which enables autonomous operation during the landing process. The successful landing of Chang’e-6 has advanced this technology.

The key to landing is to achieve a smooth touchdown. The landing of the lander-ascender combination would generate considerable impact loads. Therefore, a corresponding buffer mechanism must be designed to ensure the probe does not topple over or sink into the surface. For this purpose, the CAST has customized four lightweight and high-strength “legs” for Chang’e-6.

According to experts, each of the landing legs consists of a main leg, two secondary legs, and a foot pad. Prior to landing, the main and secondary legs, made of a new type of high-strength alloy material with special filling, would work collaboratively to support the body of the probe, transmitting and absorbing impact forces.

After landing, Chang’e-6 transmitted back images of the landing site and began its sample-retrieving operations on the far side of the moon. The retrieving operations adopted two methods of moon sampling, which included using a drill to collect subsurface samples and grabbing samples on the surface with a robotic arm.

It is reported that after completing its work on the lunar surface, Chang’e-6 will embark on its journey back home. It is scheduled to land in a designated area in north China’s Inner Mongolia autonomous region, thus concluding its trip lasting more than 50 days.

By Huan Yuping, People’s Daily

Security is a common need for countries around the world, but there are always some individuals who, under the guise of safeguarding security, deliberately create risks.

They view the interdependence formed among nations due to economic globalization as a threat and use the pretext of security to create scientific and technological barriers and sever industrial and supply chains, which causes impacts on global economic development and stability. This has raised widespread concerns in the international community.

The mindset of zero-sum game characterized by binary opposition has long been a thing of the past, and a genuinely secure world should be one featuring deep integration and interdependence. Creating division and confrontation with the zero-sum mentality goes against the goal of maintaining security and only leads to collective insecurity.

In 1996, American columnist Thomas Friedman proposed the theory of “Golden Arches Theory of Conflict Prevention,” suggesting that two countries that were sufficiently developed to support a McDonald’s would not fight each other because the benefits brought by economic globalization would outweigh the desire for war.

At that time, economic globalization was widely seen as a positive force beneficial to global development and security. However, today, with the trend of economic globalization, some individuals have developed an unfounded “cooperation phobia,” constantly seeing imaginary threats.

Some politicians from a few countries even openly claimed that modern cars are like “iPhones on wheels” capable of collecting vast amounts of information. “Imagine a world with 3 million Chinese vehicles on the roads of America, and Beijing can turn them off at the same time,” they said, absurdly.

This illogical reasoning has sparked widespread criticism and is seen as trade sanctions and protectionism disguised as national security concerns.

In this world shaped by economic globalization, goods, capital, people, and information flow around the world ceaselessly, and interdependence among nations has become the norm. Viewing the world through the mindset of zero-sum game and baselessly hyping so-called security threats are severely disconnected from realities and deviate from the historical trend of development.

Every country has security needs, but abusing the concept of security will only harm a country’s own security in the long run.

Currently, more and more scholars are warning that the United States is showing signs of falling into a trap of abusing the concept of security. Once obsessed with the so-called absolute security, and arbitrarily expanding the scope of security, the country would incline to closed-door policies and exclusion, resulting in misallocation and waste of development resources. Externally, it is prone to creating “imaginary enemies” and getting caught in zero-sum games, undermining normal international cooperation.

In recent years, a few countries have been aggressively seeking “friendshoring” and pursuing a “small yard, high fence” strategy, continuously abusing the concept of security. They have turned their mindset from “running faster than others” to “running faster by tripping others.”

This approach seriously damages global prosperity and stability.

Past and current experiences show that countries engaging in mutually beneficial cooperation based on market principles not only contribute to each other’s development but also help foster healthy and stable relationships.

Over the past few decades, the international system has maintained overall stability and order, which is to a large extent attributed to the continuously improving mutually beneficial cooperation amidst the tide of economic globalization.

Distorting and undermining mutually beneficial cooperation between countries in the name of so-called security will only exacerbate misunderstandings, erode mutual trust, disrupt international relations, and create security risks. From a long-term perspective, a world influenced by unilateralism and protectionism will be even more insecure.

In today’s world, the interests, prosperity and security of countries are closely intertwined. The world will never return to isolation. When considering security issues in the context of economic globalization, one must maintain an objective and dialectical perspective.

Firstly, it is important to abandon the misconception of absolute security and adhere to the concept of common security. Adopting a double standard of demanding other countries to open up while closing one’s own doors in the name of “de-risking” will only hinder both development and security, and ultimately lead to backfiring.

Secondly, all parties should recognize that seeking security and promoting cooperation are not contradictory, and that absence of cooperation is the biggest risk and lack of development the biggest insecurity. Risks should be reasonably defined and prevented, without equating interdependence with insecurity. Major economies that have a significant impact on the world economy, in particular, should balance security and open development with a rational attitude.

Thirdly, in the face of problems that arise in economic and trade cooperation, it is important to stop turning business relations into political, security or ideological issues. Instead, countries should strengthen dialogue, manage and resolve the issues in accordance with relevant international rules.

For emerging technologies such as artificial intelligence, all parties should enhance communication and coordination on reasonable security concerns, effectively safeguarding security and promoting development through global governance based on extensive consultation, joint contribution and shared benefits.

In today’s world, what countries truly need is mutual achievement, rather than zero-sum games. The international community should jointly promote a universally beneficial and inclusive economic globalization, resolutely oppose the attempt to roll back globalization and abuse the concept of security, and oppose all forms of unilateralism and protectionism. This way, people of all countries will be able to share in the benefits of economic globalization and global growth.