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Showing posts with label science. Show all posts
Showing posts with label science. Show all posts

Wednesday, 22 October 2025

Moon race on a deadline

A Long March-2F rocket, carrying the Shenzhou-19 spacecraft and a crew of three astronauts, lifts off from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Centre in the Gobi Desert, northwest China. — TNS

“If you really want to beat the Chinese, give Nasa the funding and stabi­lity it needs. You’re not going to win if every week there’s a new direction, a new budget, a new administrator.” -by  G. Scott,Hubbard

EARLY in his first term, US President Donald Trump held a modest ceremony directing Nasa to return humans to the moon for the first time in half a century – a lofty goal with no clear road map.Veterans of the space community were torn between excitement and concern.Was Trump offering a windfall to aerospace contractors or charting a genuine strategic vision to reclaim American ­leadership in space?The idea wasn’t new.

President George W. Bush had proposed a similar plan in 2004, only for Barack Obama to abandon it six years later.

For decades, Nasa wrestled with the question of whether to return to the moon or leap straight to Mars – each path promi­sing scientific glory but demanding vast, steady funding from a fickle Congress.

Eight years on, that debate is over.

Trump’s revived lunar policy has igni­ted a new space race – this time with China – and the countdown is already on.

Both nations are targeting manned lunar landings by 2029, a symbolic year marking the end of Trump’s presidency and the 80th anniversary of the People’s Republic of China.

But unlike the Cold War’s first space race, this contest is not about planting flags. It’s about who gets to stay.

Washington’s Artemis programme aims to establish a permanent base to test life beyond Earth.

Beijing has similar ambitions – and ­ both are zeroing in on the same spot: the moon’s South Pole, where peaks of eternal sunlight border deep, shadowed craters believed to contain frozen water.

Whichever nation establishes a foothold first could claim the region – and the resources – for itself.

“The bottom line is, yes, it’s doable,” said G. Scott Hubbard, a veteran of human space exploration and Nasa’s first “Mars czar”.

“But it’ll take intense effort and proper funding. It’s not inconceivable – but it’s a stretch.”

Nasa officials fear that funding cuts and private-sector delays could hand China an early lead.

The Trump administration has proposed slashing the agency’s research budget by nearly half, fuelling uncertainty within Nasa at a critical moment.

“There’s too much uncertainty,” said one official. “Inside headquarters, everyone’s walking on eggshells.”

In the 1960s, the US government poured 4.4% of GDP into Nasa to win the space race.

Today, the share is less than 0.5%.

White House officials insist Trump is committed to making “American leadership in space great again”.

Acting Nasa administrator and Trans­portation Secretary Sean Duffy said: “Being first and beating China matters because it sets the rules of the road. Those who lead in space lead on Earth.”

Beijing, meanwhile, is steadily ticking off milestones. It recently launched its Lanyue lander – built to carry two taiko­nauts (China’s term for astronauts) – validating its take-off and landing systems, according to state media.

Two tests of its new Long March 10 super-heavy rocket were declared “complete successes” by the China Manned Space Agency.

“They’re progressing on every key piece they’ll need,” said Dean Cheng, a China expert at the US Institute of Peace. “They’ve built a new rocket, a lunar lander and they’re moving faster than anyone expected.”

China has accelerated its timeline from 2035 to 2029 and plans to start building a joint lunar research base with Russia by 2030, most likely at the South Pole.

“There’s room for two powers – but not without coordination,” warned Thomas Gonzalez Roberts, a space policy scholar at Georgia Tech. “Competition for the same landing sites could turn risky.”

China’s goal, experts say, is to arrive first and establish broad control – securing access routes, communications, dig sites and even a nuclear reactor to power its base.

Nasa’s own plans depend on Elon Musk’s Starship rocket – a giant, reusable launcher built by SpaceX and central to Trump’s Artemis vision.

But repeated test failures have put the schedule in jeopardy.

“Starship has yet to reach orbit,” Hubbard said. “And once it does, it’ll need to prove it can transfer cryogenic fuel in space – something never done before. Doing all that within two years is a real stretch.”

Delays have already pushed Artemis III, the first planned lunar landing, towards the end of Trump’s term.

Artemis II – a manned orbit around the moon – is expected early next year after design flaws in Lockheed Martin’s Orion capsule were fixed.

Trump’s aides fear Beijing could deploy a nuclear reactor on the moon by 2029, allowing it to declare a “keep-out zone” and block American operations nearby.

Duffy has ordered Nasa to prepare a competing US reactor mission by the same year.

Yet, uncertainty persists.

Trump has not nominated a permanent Nasa administrator and the White House declined to identify who is overseeing the lunar effort.

Even Trump’s broader space agenda is shaky.

His administration has proposed ­cancelling funding for Nasa’s Mars Sample Return mission, a cornerstone of planetary science, despite evidence that the Red Planet once supported life.

Setbacks are part of the space game, but China’s pace has turned them into a liabi­lity.

If Beijing lands first, it would not just be a symbolic victory – it could reshape power dynamics on Earth.

“I’ve been on the inside,” Hubbard said. “You waste enormous time fighting budget battles.

“If you really want to beat the Chinese, give Nasa the funding and stabi­lity it needs. You’re not going to win if every week there’s a new direction, a new budget, a new administrator.”

Then he paused. “And China may still win,” he said. “That would be another claim that they’re the dominant power in the world.” — Los Angeles Times/TNS

Relates posts:

Do not misread China, Victor Gao on How the US Misunderstands China

 


Wednesday, 2 July 2025

Of AI, calculators and learning maths

 


WHILE teaching mathematics in two countries, Malaysia and China, I have noticed that the way students master this subject is deeply influenced by their own educational culture and assessment systems.

Scientific calculators and artificial intelligence (AI) are now part and parcel of the learning process. However, the students’ approaches to using these tools are still firmly rooted in the foundational values shaped by their respective systems.

In Malaysia, the use of scientific calculators is a standard practice among students at the upper secondary level.

Students are allowed to use them for mathematics and additional mathematics papers in the SPM exams, especially for questions involving trigonometry, logarithms or statistical calculations.

They do speed up calculations and minimise errors, but overly relying on them can sometimes lead to weaker mastery of basic computational skills and reduced understanding of the core mathematical concepts.

Teaching foundation students at Xi’an International University in China under the Universiti Malaya (UM) offshore programme revealed a very different learning system.

Many students there had never used scientific calculators before.

As they were preparing to pursue their undergraduate studies at UM, I made them use the calculators during lectures and assessments.

They were hesitant at first, but I could see their excitement when they tried to use the device.

Nevertheless, most of them continued to solve problems, such as multiplication, square roots and trigonometric expressions, manually and did so with remarkable speed and precision.

This comfort with manual computation stemmed from their early training and a system that actively reinforces such skills.

One of the main reasons for this is China’s national university entrance exam, Gaokao. Known for its intensity and competitiveness, Gaokao strictly prohibits the use of calculators in the mathematics paper. This policy is intentional; it aims to assess a student’s genuine computational skills, ensure fairness across all regions and backgrounds, and encourage deep mastery of mathematical principles without relying on technology. As a result, Chinese students are trained from young to memorise formulas and solve problems manually.

The outcome is a generation of students who possess strong fundamental skills and a high level of confidence when tackling complex problems using logical and structured steps.

Despite these systemic differences, global developments continue to impact both countries. Students in Malaysia and China are now turning to Ai-powered apps such as CHATGPT, Deepseek, Symbolab, and Photomath, and are becoming increasingly dependent on Ai-generated solutions without fully engaging with the problem-solving process.

To address this, I apply a simple yet effective approach in my classroom. Students are required to answer the questions using their own reasoning first before they are allowed to check or verify their answers using AI.

This approach trains them to think critically, assess their own solutions, and compare them with the output provided by AI tools. It also builds confidence in their conceptual understanding.

What I find most encouraging is how students respond when their answers differ from the Ai-generated ones. On several occasions, I have heard them say confidently, “I think my answer is correct. The AI is wrong.” To me, this is a clear indicator of authentic learning.

These students are not simply replicating solutions; they have internalised the logic, are able to explain their reasoning, and are not afraid to challenge the authority of a machine when they believe in their own understanding.

I fully support the integration of AI as a learning tool, but I also believe that solving problems manually and conceptual mastery of the subject – in this case mathematics – must remain the foundation of education.

Technology should enhance students’ learning but not replace their ability to think.

FATIN NABILA ABD LATIFF Senior lecturer Mathematics Division Centre for Foundation Studies in Science Universiti Malaya

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Thursday, 15 May 2025

Can Huawei break the Mac-Windows duopoly?

 

Global ambitions: A man using his mobile phone in front of a billboard in Beijing, China. Huawei says that the first lineup of its PCs has built-in AI features, including DeepSeek-powered apps. — Bloomberg

IN the latest sign that US attempts to choke Huawei Technologies Co are only strengthening it, the Chinese tech giant will next week release its first line of personal computers (PCs) powered by the homegrown HarmonyOS operating system (OS).

The move to challenge the global duopoly overseen by Microsoft Corp’s Windows and Apple Inc’s MacOS was not by choice.

Huawei’s licence to run Windows on PCs expired in March, and America’s blacklisting makes it difficult for US firms to continue to do business with it.

Instead of succumbing to Washington’s squeeze, Huawei has invested heavily in the nearly impossible task of creating an entirely new software ecosystem from scratch.

It will be an uphill battle for HarmonyOS to make a dent, both in China and globally.

The first computers run by Windows or MacOS were released in the 80s and are the foundation – and essentially only options – for most applications and services that PC users rely on.

The diffusion and adoption of a new operating system doesn’t happen overnight.

But if Huawei can succeed in getting developers on board, it has a shot at providing the first real alternative to this two-party standard and offering a Chinese alternative that could eventually erode the long-term influence of Silicon Valley.

The new PCs follow the remarkable gains made by Huawei’s OS for mobile over the past couple of years, unseating Apple’s iOS in domestic market share at a rapid clip.

In early 2023, HarmonyOS’s operating system had just 8% of the mobile market in China, compared to the 72% held by Alphabet Inc’s Google-backed Android and iOS’s 20%, according to Counterpoint Research.

In the last quarter of 2024, however, HarmonyOS commanded 19% – surpassing iOS’s 17% and pushing Android’s share down to 64%.

There are other elements on its side.

Huawei’s homegrown OS aligns with President Xi Jinping’s goal of tech self-sufficiency, meaning it can likely count on government support to boost adoption.

China has a vast domestic market, which means there’s less pressure on Huawei to rely on the United States or foreign consumers as it works out any kinks.

The trade war is pressuring many Chinese to back domestic brands over American alternatives.

Huawei’s hardware empire also gives it a built-in userbase to tap. The company’s strength still largely lies in mobile devices, but it was second only to Lenovo in PC market share in China last year.

Still, headaches were reported with the mobile version, especially related to accessing certain apps that were specifically built for Android or iOS.

Splashy demo videos make the first such PC look like a sleek MacBook, but it’s going to take years for programmers to build out all the applications and products users have grown accustomed to, from Microsoft’s Office suite to Mac’s FaceTime.

By far the biggest challenge, across all devices, remains convincing developers to get on board.

China’s vast pool of engineers gives it an advantage, but Huawei must aggressively incentivise them to build services specifically for HarmonyOS.

It has made some strides. Huawei says that the first lineup of these PCs has built-in artificial intelligence (AI) features, including DeepSeek-powered apps.

State-backed media has reported that they have more than 150 dedicated applications, as well as being compatible with a range of popular Chinese platforms available on mobile.

In its annual report last year, Huawei said that over a billion devices – including phones, tablets and smartwatches – are already running HarmonyOS.

And Huawei has previously signalled global ambitions for its operating system, coinciding with its devices’ increasing popularity across South-East Asia and emerging markets.

A lot of attention has been paid to Huawei’s rise in the hardware sector, and specifically its advances in chipmaking for AI applications.

US efforts to ban advanced semiconductors from China have no doubt slowed AI ambitions. But they have also accelerated Beijing’s development of a domestic and self-sufficient ecosystem.

Most recently, America’s bar on Nvidia Corp’s H20 chips has been criticised for redirecting demand and money toward Huawei’s alternatives. The proliferation of Huawei’s HarmonyOS now makes it clear that we’re seeing a similar scenario play out in China’s software sector.

Washington should assess how its policies have resulted in Huawei growing into the behemoth it is today.

The ramifications extend far beyond potential impacts to US businesses.

In an increasingly bifurcating tech world, Beijing could eventually end up setting the norms and standards that the rest of the world adopts, whether that’s in AI or operating systems. — Bloomberg

Catherine Thorbecke is a Bloomberg Opinion columnist covering Asia tech. The views expressed here are the writer’s own.

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Friday, 9 May 2025

China's quantum computing industry has developed replicable, iterative engineering production capabilities: developer

 

A model of Origin Wukong, China's independently developed third-generation superconducting quantum computer Photo: VCG


China's quantum computing industry has made new progress. Recently, Chinese startup Origin Quantum in Hefei, East China's Anhui Province, launched Origin Tianji 4.0, a self-developed superconducting quantum measurement and control system that supports 500-plus-qubit quantum computers. The progress indicates that China's quantum computing industry has achieved replicable and iterative engineering production capabilities, laying the foundation for the mass production of hundred-bit quantum computers, Kong Weicheng, head of the system's development team, told the Global Times.

Dubbed the "nerve centers" of quantum computers, measurement and control systems manage precise signal generation, acquisition, and control for quantum chips. In 2018, Kong's team developed the first domestically produced quantum computer control system with completely independent intellectual property rights, filling a gap in the domestic quantum computing measurement and control field.

The latest Origin Tianji 4.0 system can effectively shorten the development and delivery time for quantum computers at the hundred-bit scale, while enhancing the system's automation capabilities and long-term stability, according to Kong, who is also deputy director of Anhui Quantum Computing Engineering Research Center.  

Previously, China relied heavily on imports for high-end instruments and equipment, and we could only use traditional commercial instruments to build our quantum computing measurement and control systems, with signal output and acquisition tasks being conducted separately. This approach was not only costly and redundant in functionality, but also had drawbacks such as poor compatibility and difficulty in integration, Kong told the Global Times. 

"Now, after multiple iterations, China's quantum computing measurement and control system has improved in terms of product scalability, integration, performance stability, and automation level. What we need to do is to go from nothing to something, and from something to a usable and durable product," Kong said. 

The Origin Tianjin 4.0 system was built and upgraded based on its preceding 3.0 version, which powers Origin Wukong, China's independently developed third-generation superconducting quantum computer. 

Since it went into operation on January 6, 2024, Origin Wukong has served users in 139 countries and regions over 26 million times, and completed more than 380,000 quantum computing tasks, covering a wide range of industries from finance to biomedicine, the Global Times learned from the team. 

According to Kong, in recent years, the process of quantum computing industrialization has been growing rapidly around the world. Eight years ago, Barclays Bank began to explore the application scenarios of quantum technology in the financial sector. Subsequently, leading international financial institutions such as JPMorgan Chase and Goldman Sachs formed quantum research teams to explore quantum computing applications.

Domestically, quantum computing has been explored in various industries, including national defense and security, biopharmaceuticals, energy materials, artificial intelligence, financial markets, and transportation and aviation. However, "there is still a significant gap from the industry's expectations for exponential acceleration and leaps in computing power," Kong said. 

According to Kong, the development of quantum computers is influenced by various factors such as hardware devices, cooling environments, and temperature, and these challenges require cross-disciplinary collaboration, including efforts in ecological construction and other dimensions. - Global Times In Depth

Tuesday, 29 April 2025

Highlights of Shenzhou-20 manned mission, Shenzhou 19 astronauts return after six-month mission, China's Tiandu satellite pulls off laser ranging in Earth-moon space under daylight, marking a world first



Missions of the Shenzhou-20 crewed spaceship, scheduled to be launched at 5:17 pm, April 24, from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in Northwest China, include: - Completing an in-orbit rotation with the Shenzhou-19 crew, staying at the China Space Station for ...

 

Photo: DSEL

From Saturday to Sunday, China's Tiandu-1 communication and navigation technology experiment satellite successfully conducted a laser ranging technology test in the Earth-moon space under strong daylight interference conditions, marking a world first in overcoming the time restriction of satellite laser ranging in Earth-Moon space only being performed at night, signifying a new technological advancement in the field of precision measurement in deep space orbits, Global Times learned from the satellite developer China's Deep Space Exploration Lab (DSEL) on Monday.

Due to the vast scale of Earth-moon space and the extremely high speed of satellite motion, conducting laser ranging on satellites in such an environment is akin to aiming at a single hair (sub-millimeter target) from 10,000 meters away while performing precise tracking and signal acquisition, said DSEL in a statement it provided to the Global Times on Sunday. 

Satellite laser ranging in Earth-moon space was limited to nighttime conditions without light interference, restricting observation periods and resulting in insufficient frequency of orbital dynamic data collection. The successful execution of this laser ranging test under daylight interference conditions significantly expands the observation window for this technology, providing a practical engineering foundation for its widespread application, DSEL said. 

This achievement will strongly support the validation and implementation of major deep space exploration missions, such as the International Lunar Research Station, it added. 

As the first satellites ever developed by DSEL, the Tiandu-1 and -2 satellites were sent into space together with the Queqiao-2 relay satellite on March 20, 2024. They entered their target circumlunar orbits on March 29 and separated on April 3, according to the Xinhua News Agency. They have conducted a series of technological experiments for lunar communication and navigation.