China announced a list of 30 songs to be broadcast to Earth next
year from its first lunar-probing satellite, the authorities
said.
The Commission of Science, Technology and Industry for National
Defense, in charge of the lunar project, announced Friday a list of
30 tunes to be played from the lunar-probing satellite, which
coincides with this year's traditional Mid-Autumn Festival or the Moon Festival, a
time for family reunions.
The songs were chosen according to public votes and by a panel
of experts, organized by the commission, China Central Television
and China Musicians Association.
Experts said these songs can express Chinese people's love for
the motherland, for life, peace and their pursuit of truth and
nature, which will showcase the beauty of Chinese culture and its
influence.
Most of the songs were Chinese folk songs. The song got most
votes was folk song "My Wonderful Home Town", followed by "I Love
China", "Singing Praises of Motherland" and 27 others.
The songs were chosen from a list of 152 songs put forward by
the commission's Lunar Probe Engineering Center, which includes
music from the country's 56 ethnic groups, pop music from the
mainland, Taiwan and Hong Kong and opera soundtracks.
China's national anthem and "The East is Red", a tribute song to
Mao Zedong, which was broadcast in 1970 from the country's first
man-made terrestrial satellite, will also be played from the
satellite.
The satellite project was approved by the Chinese central
authorities in 2004 as part of the three-stage Chang'e Program. The
project has a budget of 1.4 billion yuan (US$170 million).
The program, named "Chang'e" after the legendary Chinese goddess
who flew to the moon, aims to eventually place an unmanned vehicle
on the moon by 2010.
The lunar satellite is designed to obtain 3D images of the lunar
surface, analyze the content of useful elements and materials, and
probe the depth of the lunar soil and the space environment between
the earth and the moon.
The satellite, which is based on China's Dongfanghong III
telecommunication satellite platform, boasts seven types of
scientific exploration instruments, including a CCD camera, a
high-energy particle detector, a laser height gauge and a
micro-wave detector.
The satellite will be 2,350 kg in weight with 130 kg of payload,
and will orbit the moon for one year. A Chinese Long March III A
carrier rocket will be used to launch the satellite.
The satellite launch at the Xichang Satellite Launch Center in
southwest China's Sichuan Province next year will be followed by
the landing of an unmanned vehicle on the moon in 2010 and
collecting samples of lunar soil with an unmanned vehicle in
2020.
(Xinhua News Agency October 7, 2006)