
METU team develops AI-powered prototypes for the lunar south pole mission, months after Ankara joined the US-led Artemis Accords.
A team of Turkish scientists and students at Middle East Technical University has built AI-powered rover prototypes for China's Chang’e-8 lunar south pole mission, despite Turkey recently signing the US-led Artemis Accords.
AI-generated summary
Turkey joined the US-led Artemis Accords in August. METU developed rover prototypes for China's Chang'e-8 mission.
Turkey has signed America’s rule book for the moon, but its first ride to the lunar south pole – the icy region both Washington and Beijing are racing to reach – will probably come from China.
A team of more than 120 students and professors at Middle East Technical University (METU) in Ankara has built prototypes of two AI-powered rovers for Chang’e-8, a Chinese mission originally planned for 2028.
Turkey is not part of the International Lunar Research Station, a base China plans to build on the moon with Russia and other partners. In August, it signed the US-led Artemis Accords, joining more than 70 countries that have pledged to follow principles for lunar exploration.
The Seventh Manned Spaceflight Academic Conference focused on the lunar exploration project, and the research and development and construction of the moon landing phase of China's lunar exploration project were solidly advanced. Before the manned moon landing, the technology verification flight of the Long March 10 carrier rocket and the first flight of the Mengzhou spacecraft and lunar lander will be completed, and "digital intelligence" will be included in the theme of the conference for the first time.
On October 31, the 7th Manned Spaceflight Academic Conference opened in Beijing. More than 800 experts and scholars exchanged views on the theme of digital intelligence empowering the high-quality development of manned spaceflight. The conference lasted for two days and included multiple thematic sub-forums to discuss cutting-edge achievements such as space station operations and lunar exploration.
The 7th Manned Spaceflight Academic Conference opened in Beijing, focusing on digital intelligence empowering the high-quality development of manned spaceflight. The Chinese space station is operating stably and has implemented more than 200 scientific application projects. It will achieve the first Chinese moon landing before 2030.
Russian President Vladimir Putin praised SpaceX CEO Musk as a "genius" on the 28th and said that Russia is independently promoting the construction of a "Dawn" satellite system similar to "Starlink" and has just taken the first step. Putin revealed that the two sides are maintaining contact to maintain orbital order.

Chinese astronomers using NASA's TESS telescope have identified three solar systems where Jupiter-like planets survived after their host stars expanded into red giants, challenging current models of stellar evolution and the future of planetary systems.

The team of Professor Qian Shengbang of Yunnan University discovered three exoplanets that should have been swallowed by the host star in the red giant stage. These planets still survived in the later stages of stellar evolution, challenging the traditional stellar evolution theory and providing a new perspective for understanding the future evolution of the solar system and the earth.