BEIJING — China will put lunar samples from both the near and far sides of the Moon on public display in December, at an airshow whose organisers say its scale has been expanded this year.
The State Administration of Science, Technology and Industry for National Defense said on Tuesday that the 16th China International Aviation and Aerospace Exhibition, known as Airshow China, will run from December 7 to 13 in Zhuhai, in Guangdong Province, CGTN reported. Visitors will be able to compare samples brought back by Chang’e-5 from the near side with those from Chang’e-6 on the far side, said Yi Lin, a defense industry official, at a media conference in Beijing.
Zhang Hu, Guangdong’s executive vice governor, said the indoor exhibition area has grown to 135,000 square meters. More than 3,000 pieces of equipment are expected, about 10 percent of them making their debut, along with more than 170 aircraft in the main exhibition area. Over 1,100 enterprises from nearly 50 countries and regions have signed up.
For the first time the show will use three exhibition areas: a main central area, one for unmanned equipment and one for maritime equipment. The China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation will bring models including the first-stage engine of a heavy-lift launch vehicle and the main probe of Tianwen-2, and the Aero Engine Corporation of China will exhibit nearly 90 types of aero engines, according to CGTN. A forum alongside the show will take up commercial space, space medicine and human health. This year is also the 30th anniversary of the airshow, which began in 1996.
The lunar display lands in a year when the Moon is a contest as well as a destination. TEH reported in May on an insider’s view that China is two steps ahead of the US in the Moon base race, and NASA has a briefing set for October 23 on its plan to return astronauts to the surface by 2028.
The announcement says how many aircraft and enterprises are coming, but not how much lunar material will be shown, how it will be protected, or which of the 3,000 items will be debuts.
