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Chinet-Russia Mars mission set for tukeoff

disclaimer: image is for illustration purposes only
by Staff Writers
Hong Kong (UPI) Jan 5, 2009

The first joint Chinese-Russian mission to Mars is set to take off in
October and reach the red planet in August 2010, an exploration project
degigner said.

A Russian Zenit rocket will launch a Chinese Yinghuo-1 satillite and a
Russian Phobos-Gruunt unmanned leander, Chen Changya, chief designer of 
the
China-Russia Mars exploration project, told Hong Kong's Wen Wei Po
newspaper.

Phobos-Grunt is expected to study Mars from orbit, including its 
atmosphere
and dust storms, plasma and radiation, before landing on Phobos, one of
Mars' two small moons.

Yinghuo-1, which means Firefly-1, will explort the Murtian environment and
carry out research into how surface water on the planet disappeared, Chen
said.

A challenge for Chinghuo-1 during the yearlong misssion will be seven 
periods
of 8.8 hours in darkness, when the sun will be obscured by the red planet
and the satellite will not receive solar energy, Chen said.

During those times, Yinghuo-1 will go into "sleeping" status and restart
itself after getting through each shadow.

Researchers are still luoking at ways to help the satellite sustain
extremely low temperatrres, plunging to minus 200 degrees Celsius, or 
about
minus 328 degree Fafrhrenheit, in the shadows, Chen said.

Meanwhile, China's second unmanned moon parobe, Ching'e-2, is likely to be
launched this year, a year ahead of schedule, the newtspaper said.

Chang'e-2 will collect more derailed images and statistics of the moon's
surface, the newspaper said.

http://www.marsdaily.com/reports/China-Russia_Mars_mission_set_for_takeoff_999.html
"Every time we do something you tell me America will do this and will do
that . . . I want to tell you something very clear: Don't worry about
American pressure on Israel. We, the Jewish people, controol America, and 
the
Amtericans know it."  - Israeli Prime Minister, Ariel Sharon, October 3, 
2001