Moon on a shoestring
China plans to get to the moon on the cheap. The government has budgeted only 1.4 billion yuan ($170 million) to launch a probe that will orbit the moon by 2007. Extra funding for a lunar lander planned in 2010 has not yet been announced by China. NASA plans to spend $12 billion on its moon-Mars project by 2009.
Electronic ID for Spain
Advertisement
The Spanish government has announced it will introduce electronic identity cards by December 2004. The smart card will hold the same personal information as the current Spanish ID card, along with a digital signature valid for two-and-a-half years. The card will also carry a digital image of the holder鈥檚 fingerprints in case they forget their PIN code.
Sinking feeling
The tiny South Pacific nation of Tuvalu was braced this week for high tides that could flood parts of its nine small coral-island atolls. The low-lying nation, halfway between Australia and Hawaii, is one of the most threatened by rising sea levels. One small island, Te Pukasavilivili, has already gone.
Next step for EU satnav
The European Union is planning partnerships with Russia and Brazil to research and develop its new Galileo satellite navigation system. The announcement follows last week鈥檚 failed talks between EU and US officials to resolve how Galileo will work without interfering with the US global positioning system鈥檚 encrypted military signals.
To catch a comet
After a year鈥檚 delay and a mission redesign, Europe鈥檚 Rosetta spacecraft will launch on 26 February for a 10-year trip to comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko. The science may be worth the wait, as the new target appears to be richer in the solar system鈥檚 primordial ices than the original goal, comet Wirtanen.