Two radio telescopes put into use to support deep space exploration

A 40-meter-diameter radio telescope is put into use on Friday in Shigatse, Xizang autonomous region. The two new telescopes will better support China's lunar exploration projects and radio astronomy research, the observatory said. "With the addition of these two new telescopes, the effective diameter of China's VLBI network has increased from 3,200 kilometers to 3,800 km, resulting in an 18-percent increase in resolution and a 25-percent increase in observable sky area," said Shen Zhiqiang, director of the Shanghai Astronomical Observatory. Now with more telescopes, we can simultaneously observe two different directions or even different celestial bodies, providing important support for China's future deep space exploration," Shen said, adding that the telescopes will participate in supporting the Tianwen 2 mission next May. "I believe that the 40-meter radio telescopes at Shigatse and Changbai Mountain will play an important role in the future lunar exploration project, as well as in deep space exploration missions to asteroids, Mars, Jupiter and beyond," she said.