Sci-Tech

China Capable of Exploring Mars

China has the capability to explore the planet Mars， said Ye Peijian， top scientist with Chinas lunar probe mission. China currently has the technology to send a probe to circle and land on the planet， without major problems with tracking control and communications technology. But the trip to Mars will depend on the countrys budget and planning. Currently， it takes about 10 months to send a probe from Earth to Mars， and the probing period lasts between 500 and 800 days. So far， humans have made over 40 attempts to explore Mars but more than half have failed. Out of 13 attempted landings， only seven probes successfully sent back signals after landing. In 2011， a Russian spacecraft carried Chinas first Mars-exploration probe， Yinghuo-1， into space but it later broke down， marking the failure of Chinas first Mars exploration.

Low Cost Info to Boost Chinas Geomatics Industry

China plans to offer basic geographic information at low cost or even for free in the future so as to boost development of the geomatics industry， according to the National Administration of Surveying， Mapping and Geoinformation. The policy will offer information support for companies and promote their value-added service based on this data. Chinas geomatics industry has grown rapidly in recent years， with an average growth of more than 25 percent since 2008. According to figures from the Ministry of Land and Resources， the estimated annual total output of Chinas geomatics industry reached RMB 260 billion. The government will purchase more services from social sectors， encourage companies to compete internationally， boost growth in consumption of geographic information， and stimulate private investment in this sector.

32 Projects

According to Zhai Qing， Vice Minister of Environmental Protection， last year the government rejected applications for 32 projects at investments totaling RMB 118.4 billion. It also handed down harsh punishment to state-owned enterprise giants CNPC， SINOPEC and CHD for failing to meet emission reduction goals.

Chinas First ROV Operation in the Southwest Indian Ocean

China recently used the remotely operated underwater vehicle Hailong （Sea Dragon） to study polymetallic sulfides in the southwest Indian Ocean. Scientists discovered new sulfide deposits in the explored area. Hydrothermal sulfide is a kind of sea-bed deposit containing copper， zinc and precious metals such as gold and silver. After chemical reactions， these metals form sulfides and come to rest in the seabed in “chimney vents.”With the help of the Hailong， scientists observed these vents， blind shrimp and fish as well as other creatures in hydrothermal areas. The underwater vehicle also extracted water samples. Chief expedition scientist Tao Chunhui said that the high-precision positioning， real-time control， observation， photography and sampling performed by Hailong could not have been achieved with conventional survey methods.

China Ranks First in Patent Applications

The State Intellectual Property Office （SIPO） of China said that it accepted 825，000 patent applications for new inventions in 2013， a year-on-year increase of 26.3 percent. China has ranked first in the world for three consecutive years in this field. The office authorized 208，000 patents last year， including 144，000 domestic patents. Beijing， Guangdong and Jiangsu are top three in the number of authorized patents， followed by Zhejiang， Shanghai， Shandong， Sichuan， Anhui， Shaanxi and Hubei. In addition， SIPO last year accepted 22，924 international patent applications under the Patent Cooperation Treaty （PCT）， a year-onyear increase of 15 percent. Of these， 20，897 came from China and 2，027 from abroad.