BEIJING, July 22 (Xinhua) — The following is a summary of published science and technology news of China.
APE-MAN SITE EXCAVATION
More than 80 researchers commenced China’s latest round of archaeological excavation of its renowned Yuanmou ape-man site in southwest China’s Yunnan Province on Friday. The researchers are exploring unsolved mysteries at the site that date back to around 1.7 million years ago.
The new round of excavation is scheduled to cover 200 square meters of the site’s southeastern section.
In 1965, Chinese archaeologists found two hominin teeth fossils at the Yuanmou ape-man site, winning the site a nickname of “hometown of oriental human ancestors.”
NEW CARRIER ROCKET
China is currently developing a new carrier rocket and manned spacecraft as part of its goal to land astronauts on the moon by 2030, the country’s space experts said.
The new carrier rocket Long March-10 is mainly developed for the purpose of sending spacecraft and moon lander into the Earth-moon transfer orbit, said Rong Yi, a rocket expert with the China Academy of Launch Vehicle Technology under the China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation (CASC).
The Long March-10 uses liquid hydrogen, liquid oxygen and kerosene as propellants. It has a total length of about 92 meters, a takeoff weight of about 2,187 tonnes, a takeoff thrust of about 2,678 tonnes, and a carrying capacity of no less than 27 tonnes for the Earth-moon transfer orbit.
HYDROGEN-POWERED BUSES
A fleet of 80 hydrogen-powered buses will be put into use as commuting vehicles for athletes and staff at the 31st International University Sports Federation (FISU) Summer World University Games, scheduled from July 28 to Aug. 8 in Chengdu, the capital of Sichuan, according to the executive committee of the games.
As a pilot city in western China for demonstrating the commercial use of hydrogen-powered vehicles since 2017, Chengdu has racked up a total of 20 million km in safe mileage.
The fleet in Chengdu is equipped with hydrogen fuel-cells independently developed by Dongfang Electric Corporation, a Chengdu-based power generation equipment manufacturer. The hydrogen-powered bus can travel 450 km on a single charge, with the average hydrogen fuel consumption per 100 km measured at only 4 kg. Enditem
