China's man-made moon conception is expected to be realized in 2022, the Science and Technology Daily reported.
据《科技日报》报道,中国人造月球构想有望在2022年实现。
Man-made moon is a satellite carrying a huge space mirror, which can reflect the sun light to the Earth.
“人造月亮”是指运载着大型空间镜面的卫星,它能将太阳光反射至地球。
According to research plans, the verification of launch, orbit injection, unfolding, illumination, adjust and control of the man-made moon will be completed by 2020, said Wu Chunfeng, head of Tianfu New District System Science Research Institute in Chengdu, Southwest China's Sichuan province.
我国西南部四川省成都市的天府新区系统科学研究会主任武春风表示,据研究计划推测,人造月球卫星的发射、轨道的对接、展开和照明、调节和控制的实现将在2020年之前完成。
Three man-made moons will be launched in 2022. "By then, the three huge mirrors will divide the 360-degree orbital plane, realizing illuminating an area for 24 hours continuously," said Wu.
2022年,三个“人造月亮”将发射升空。武春风称:“届时,这3面巨大的镜子将切分360度的轨道平面,3颗人造月亮运行可实现对同一地区24小时不间断照射。”
The reflected sun light can cover an area of 3,600 sq km to 6,400 sq km, and the illumination intensity is expected to be eight times of the moon light, according to Wu.
武春风透露,反射的太阳光可以覆盖3600到6400平方公里的范围,光照强度预计是月光的8倍。
The moon orbits the Earth about 380,000 km from the Earth, while the man-made moon is expected to be put on an orbit within 500 km from the Earth.
月球在离地38万公里的轨道上运行,而该人造月球预计在离地500公里的轨道上运转。
Responding to worries whether the man-made moonlight will interrupt the normal day-night cycle of animals and plants, Wu said the light intensity and illumination time can be adjusted and the accuracy of illumination can be controlled within scores of meters. When a man-made moon is orbiting, people can only see a bright star in the sky.
对于人造月光是否会干涉正常的动植物昼夜循环的担心,武春风表示,人造月亮光照强度和照明时间可以调节,并且照明精度可控制在几十米之内。当人造月球在轨道上运行时,人们仅能在天空中看到一颗明亮的星星。
Man-made moon is especially useful in civil area. "Using man-made moon to illuminate an area 50 sq km can save 1.2 billion yuan of electric charge," Wu said. "It can also illuminate blackout areas when natural disasters such as earthquake happen."
人造月亮在民用方面格外实用。武春风称:“用人造月亮给50平方千米提供照明可以节省12亿元电费。人造月亮在地震等自然灾害发生时,可以用于停电地区的照明。”