The "eye" is China's newly developed third-generation rendezvous and docking CCD optical imaging sensor. It will be used on China's second orbiting space lab,
Tiangong-2, the Chang'e-5 lunar probe and the permanent manned space station, according to the China Academy of Space Technology (CAST).
China plans to launch Tiangong-2 in 2016, and send Chang'e-5 to collect samples from the moon and return to earth around 2017. It also aims to put a permanent manned space station into service around 2022.
"Good 'eyesight' is crucial for one spacecraft chasing another for hundreds of thousands of kilometers to achieve a perfect rendezvous and docking. It's like threading the needle," says Gong Dezhu, a CAST designer who worked on the CCD optical imaging sensor.
"The last 150 meters between the two spacecraft is the most critical moment. A slight deviation during docking might lead to a disaster like the one caused by Mann, the main antagonist in the movie Interstellar," Gong says.
By Ruchi Singh
reporter
Park Sae-jin
swatchsjp@ajunews.com
