BEIJING: The Chinese city of Chengdu is planning to launch an illumination satellite disguised as an artificial moon within the next two years, as a replacement for its street lights.
The satellite would imitate the glow of the real moon while emitting a more powerful light, able to illuminate the city’s streets at night. Wu Chunfeng, chairman of Chengdu Aerospace Science and Technology Microelectronics System Research Institute, announced the news at a national mass innovation and entrepreneurship event earlier this month.
Chinese newspaper People’s Daily reports that the illumination satellite is designed to complement the moon at night, boasting a “dusk-like glow” that will be bright enough to replace street lights in the south-western city of Chengdu.
The first man-made moon will launch from Xichang Satellite Launch Center in Sichuan, with three more to follow in 2022 if the first test goes well, said Wu Chunfeng, head of Tian Fu New Area Science Society, the organization responsible for the project. According to Wu, the brightness of the artificial moon is eight times that of the real moon, and will be able to light an area with a diameter of six to 50 miles, while the precise illumination range can be controlled within a few dozen meters.
Wu explained that testing of the satellite was started years ago, and the technology was now developed enough to enable them to set a launch date for 2020. According to People’s Daily, the concept was inspired by a French artist, who imagined hanging a necklace made of mirrors above the earth, which could reflect sunshine through the streets of Paris all year round.
Chengdu’s artificial moon will have a coating that can reflect light from the sun using solar panel-like wings, whose angles can be adjusted to concentrate the light on a precise location, Asia Times reported. No further specifications of the spacecraft and its workings, or its exact launch date, have been revealed.