HIGHLIGHTS 

According to reports, the Chinese facility simulates lunar low-gravity situations.

There will be pebbles and dust in the simulation.

The simulator has a diameter of around two feet.

WHY IN NEWS

The competition for space exploration is heating up, with major nations concentrating their efforts on establishing a lunar outpost to aid operations beyond the International Space Station (ISS). China is not far behind the United States in realigning its strategy to return humans to the Moon. Its scientists have built a 'artificial moon' on Earth to test low-gravity technologies and equipment. The laboratory, which is located in eastern Jiangsu province, is intended to provide crucial research for China's lunar missions. It is expected to be released shortly, though no exact date has been set. 

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The Moon's gravitational attraction is one-sixth that of the Earth. Developing that environment here, despite Earth's greater gravitational pull, is substantial and might enhance lunar exploration by a factor of ten. NASA is now training astronauts on how to manage themselves in microgravity during parabolic flights. The Chinese facility is reported to be capable of simulating low-gravity situations for an extended period of time. This would reduce China's reliance on parabolic flights for training and low-gravity conditions for testing new rovers and technology. 'While low gravity may be attained in an aeroplane or a drop tower, it is just temporary,' China University of Mining and Technology principal scientist Li Ruilin told the South China Morning Post. The simulator they're creating, according to Li, can produce low gravity for 'as long as you want.'

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To generate an environment comparable to the lunar surface, the simulator will be filled with rocks and dust. One issue with the Chinese 'moon' is its size. There isn't much area for a manoeuvre because the simulator is just approximately two feet in diameter. This facility is intended for equipment testing and not for astronaut training. Scientists working on the project claim that their model is based on Andre Geim's 1997 experiment. The Russian-born researcher used magnets to levitate a frog, demonstrating that repulsion may balance gravity when a diamagnetic item is put in a strong magnetic field.