Secular religion

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Secular_religion 

A secular religion is a communal belief system that often rejects or neglects the metaphysical aspects of the supernatural, commonly associated with traditional religion, instead placing typical religious qualities in earthly entities. Among systems that have been characterized as secular religions are capitalism, nationalism, internationalism, Nazism, fascism, feminism, communism, Maoism, Juche, progressivism, futurism, transhumanism, Religion of Humanity, Jacobinism, and the Cult of Reason and Cult of the Supreme Being that developed after the French Revolution.

Contemporary characterizations

The term secular religion is often applied today to communal belief systems—as for example with the view of love as the postmodern secular religion. Paul Vitz applied the term to modern psychology in as much as it fosters a cult of the self, explicitly calling "the self-theory ethic [...] this secular religion". Sport has also been considered as a new secular religion, particularly with respect to Olympism. For Pierre de Coubertin, founder of the modern Olympic Games, belief in them as a new secular religion was explicit and lifelong.

Political religion

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The theory of political religion concerns governmental ideologies whose cultural and political backing is so strong that they are said to attain power equivalent to those of a state religion, with which they often exhibit significant similarities in both theory and practice. In addition to basic forms of politics, like parliament and elections, it also holds an aspect of "sacralization" related to the institutions contained within the regime and also provides the inner measures traditionally considered to be religious territory, such as ethics, values, symbols, myths, rituals, archetypes and for example a national liturgical calendar.

Political religious organizations, such as the Nazi Party, adhered to the idealization of cultural and political power over the country at large. The church body of the state no longer held control over the practices of religious identity. Because of this, Nazism was countered by many political and religious organizations as being a political religion, based on the dominance which the Nazi regime had (Gates and Steane). Political religions generally vie with existing traditional religions, and may try to replace or eradicate them. The term was given new attention by the political scientist Hans Maier.

Totalitarian societies are perhaps more prone to political religion, but various scholars have described features of political religion even in democracies, for instance American civil religion as described by Robert Bellah in 1967.

The term is sometimes treated as synonymous with civil religion, but although some scholars use the terms equivalently, others see a useful distinction, using "civil religion" as something weaker, which functions more as a socially unifying and essentially conservative force, whereas a political religion is radically transformational, even apocalyptic.

Overview

The term political religion is based on the observation that sometimes political ideologies or political systems display features more commonly associated with religion. Scholars who have studied these phenomena include William Connolly in political science, Christoph Deutschmann in sociology, Emilio Gentile in history, Oliver O'Donovan in theology and others in psychology. A political religion often occupies the same ethical, psychological and sociological space as a traditional religion, and as a result it often displaces or co-opts existing religious organizations and beliefs. The most central marker of a political religion involves the sacralization of politics, for example an overwhelming religious feeling when serving one's country, or the devotion towards the Founding Fathers of the United States. Although a political religion may co-opt existing religious structures or symbolism, it does not itself have any independent spiritual or theocratic elements—it is essentially secular, using religious motifs and methods for political purposes, if it does not reject religious faith outright. Typically, a political religion is considered to be secular, but more radical forms of it are also transcendental.

Origin of the theory

The 18th-century philosopher Jean-Jacques Rousseau (1712–1778) argued that all societies need a religion to hold men together. Because Christianity tended to pull men away from earthly matters, Rousseau advocated a "civil religion" that would create the links necessary for political unity around the state. The Swiss Protestant theologian Adolf Keller (1872–1963) argued that Marxism in the Soviet Union had been transformed into a secular religion. Before emigrating to the United States, the German-born political philosopher Eric Voegelin wrote a book entitled The political religions. Other contributions on "political religion" (or associated terms such as "secular religion", "lay religion" or "public religion") were made by Luigi Sturzo (1871–1959), Paul Tillich (1886–1965), Gerhard Leibholz (1901–1982), Waldemar Gurian (1902–1954), Raymond Aron (1905–1983) and Walter Benjamin (1892–1940). Some saw such "religions" as a response to the existential void and nihilism caused by modernity, mass society and the rise of a bureaucratic state, and in political religions "the rebellion against the religion of God" reached its climax. They also described them as "pseudo-religions", "substitute religions", "surrogate religions", "religions manipulated by man" and "anti-religions". Yale political scientist Juan Linz and others have noted that the secularization of the twentieth century had created a void which could be filled by an ideology claiming a hold on ethical and identical matters as well, making the political religions based on totalitarianism, universalism and messianic missions (such as Manifest Destiny) possible.

An academic journal with the name Totalitarian Movements and Political Religions started publication in 2000. It was renamed Politics, Religion & Ideology in 2011. It is published by Taylor & Francis.

Typical aspects

Key qualities often (not all are always present) shared by political religion include:

• Structural
  • Differentiation between self and other, and demonisation of other (in theistic religion, the differentiation usually depends on adherence to certain dogmas and social behaviours; in political religion, differentiation may be on grounds such as nationality, social attitudes, or membership in "enemy" political parties, instead).
  • A transcendent leadership, either with messianic tendencies, often a charismatic figurehead.
  • Strong, hierarchical organisational structures.
  • The control of education, in order to ensure the security, continuation and the veneration of the existing system.
• Belief
  • A coherent belief system for imposing symbolic meaning on the external world, with an emphasis on security through faith in the system.
  • An intolerance of other ideologies of the same type.
  • A degree of utopianism.
  • The belief that the ideology is in some way natural or obvious, so that (at least for certain groups of people) those who reject it are in some way "blind".
  • A genuine desire on the part of individuals to convert others to the cause.
  • A willingness to place ends over means—in particular, a willingness (for some) to use violence or/and fraud.
  • Fatalism—a belief that the ideology will inevitably triumph in the end.

Not all of these aspects are present in any one political religion; this is only a list of some common aspects.

Suppression of religious beliefs

Political religions sometimes compete with existing religions, and try, if possible, to replace or eradicate them.^[7] Loyalty to other entities, such as a church or a deity, are often viewed as interfering with loyalty to the political religion. The authority of religious leaders also presents a threat to the authority of the political religion. As a result, some or all religious sects may be suppressed or banned. An existing sect may be converted into a state religion, but dogma and personnel may be modified to suit the needs of the party or state. Where there is suppression of religious institutions and beliefs, this might be explicitly accompanied by atheistic doctrine as in state atheism.

Juan Linz has posited the friendly form of separation of church and state as the counterpole of political religion but describes the hostile form of separation of church and state as moving toward political religion as found in totalitarianism.

Absolute loyalty

Loyalty to the state or political party and acceptance of the government/party ideology are paramount. Dissenters may be expelled, ostracized, discriminated against, imprisoned, "re-educated", or killed. Loyalty oaths or membership in a dominant (or sole) political party may be required for employment, obtaining government services, or simply as routine. Criticism of the government may be a serious crime. Enforcement can range from ostracism by one's neighbours to execution. In a political religion, you are either with the system or against it.

Cult of personality

Main article: Cult of personality

A political religion often elevates its leaders to near-godlike status. Displays of leaders in the form of posters or statues may be mandated in public areas and even private homes. Children may be required to learn the state's version of the leaders' biographies in school.

Myths of origin

Political religions often rely on a myth of origin that may have some historical basis but is usually idealized and sacralized. Current leaders may be venerated as descendants of the original fathers. There may also be holy places or shrines that relate to the myth of origin.

Historical cases

Revolutionary France

Main articles: Cult of Reason and Cult of the Supreme Being

 

The Festival of the Supreme Being, by Pierre-Antoine Demachy.

Revolutionary France was well noted for being the first state to reject religion altogether. Radicals intended to replace Christianity with a new state religion, or a deistic ideology. Maximilien Robespierre rejected atheistic ideologies and intended to create a new religion. Churches were closed, and Catholic Mass was forbidden. The Cult of the Supreme Being was well known for its derided festival, which led to the Thermidorian reaction and the fall of Robespierre.

Fascism

Main articles: Fascism and Fascist symbolism

Italian fascism

Main article: Italian fascism

According to Emilio Gentile, "Fascism was the first and prime instance of a modern political religion." "This religion sacralized the state and assigned it the primary educational task of transforming the mentality, the character, and the customs of Italians. The aim was to create a 'new man', a believer in and an observing member of the cult of Fascism."

"The argument [that fascism was a ‘political religion’] tends to involve three main claims: I) that fascism was characterized by a religious form, particularly in terms of language and ritual; II) that fascism was a sacralized form of totalitarianism, which legitimized violence in defence of the nation and regeneration of a fascist 'new man'; and III) that fascism took on many of the functions of religion for a broad swathe of society."

Nazi Germany

Main articles: Nazism and Nazi mysticism

"Among committed [Nazi] believers, a mythic world of eternally strong heroes, demons, fire and sword—in a word, the fantasy world of the nursery—displaced reality." Heinrich Himmler was fascinated by the occult, and sought to turn the SS into the basis of an official state cult.

Soviet Union

See also: Stalin's cult of personality

In 1936 a Protestant priest referred explicitly to communism as a new secular religion. A couple of years later, on the eve of World War II, F. A. Voigt characterised both Marxism and National Socialism as secular religions, akin at a fundamental level in their authoritarianism and messianic beliefs as well as in their eschatological view of human History. Both, he considered, were waging religious war against the liberal enquiring mind of the European heritage.

After the war, the social philosopher Raymond Aron would expand on the exploration of communism in terms of a secular religion; while A. J. P. Taylor, for example, would characterise it as "a great secular religion....the Communist Manifesto must be counted as a holy book in the same class as the Bible".

Klaus-Georg Riegel argued that "Lenin's utopian design of a revolutionary community of virtuosi as a typical political religion of an intelligentsia longing for an inner-worldly salvation, a socialist paradise without exploitation and alienation, to be implanted in the Russian backward society at the outskirts of the industrialised and modernised Western Europe."

Environmental toxicants and fetal development

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Environmental_toxicants_and_fetal_development 

Environmental toxicants and fetal development is the impact of different toxic substances from the environment on the development of the fetus. This article deals with potential adverse effects of environmental toxicants on the prenatal development of both the embryo or fetus, as well as pregnancy complications. The human embryo or fetus is relatively susceptible to impact from adverse conditions within the mother's environment. Substandard fetal conditions often cause various degrees of developmental delays, both physical and mental, for the growing baby. Although some variables do occur as a result of genetic conditions pertaining to the father, a great many are directly brought about from environmental toxins that the mother is exposed to.

Various toxins pose a significant hazard to fetuses during development. A 2011 study found that virtually all US pregnant women carry multiple chemicals, including some banned since the 1970s, in their bodies. Researchers detected polychlorinated biphenyls, organochlorine pesticides, perfluorinated compounds, phenols, polybrominated diphenyl ethers, phthalates, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, perchlorate PBDEs, compounds used as flame retardants, and dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane (DDT), a pesticide banned in the United States in 1972, in the bodies of 99 to 100 percent of the pregnant women they tested. Among other environmental estrogens, Bisphenol A (BPA) was identified in 96 percent of the women surveyed. Several of the chemicals were at the same concentrations that have been associated with negative effects in children from other studies and it is thought that exposure to multiple chemicals can have a greater impact than exposure to only one substance.

Effects

Environmental toxicants can be described separately by what effects they have, such as structural abnormalities, altered growth, functional deficiencies, congenital neoplasia, or even death for the fetus.

Preterm birth

One in ten US babies is born preterm and about 5% have low birth weight. Preterm birth, defined as birth at less than 37 weeks of gestation, is a major basis of infant mortality throughout childhood. Exposures to environmental toxins such as lead, tobacco smoke, and DDT have been linked with an increased risk for spontaneous abortion, low birth weight, or preterm birth.

Structural congenital abnormality

Further information: Teratology and Congenital abnormality

Toxic substances that are capable of causing structural congenital abnormalities can be termed teratogens. They are agents extrinsic to embryo or fetus which exert deleterious effects leading to increased risk of malformation, carcinogenesis, mutagenesis, altered function, deficient growth or pregnancy wastage. Teratogens are classified in four main categories:

• Drugs and chemicals. In addition to environmental chemicals, this category also includes recreational and pharmaceutical drugs in pregnancy.
• Vertically transmitted infections
• Radiation, such as X-rays
• Mechanical forces, such as oligohydramnios

Teratogens affect the fetus by various mechanism including:

• Interfering with cell proliferation rate, such as viral infection and ionization
• Altered biosynthetic pathways, as seen in chromosomal defects
• Abnormal cellular or tissue interactions, as seen in diabetes
• Extrinsic factors
• Threshold interaction of genes with environmental teratogens

Neurodevelopmental disorder

Neuroplastic effects of pollution can give rise to neurodevelopmental disorders.

Many cases of autism are related to particular geographic locations, implying that something in the environment is complementing an at-risk genotype to cause autism in vulnerable individuals. These findings regarding autism are controversial, however, with many researchers believing that increasing rates in certain areas are a consequence of more accurate screening and diagnostic methods, and are not due to any sort of environmental factor.

Toxicants and their effects

Substances which have been found to be particularly harmful are lead (which is stored in the mother's bones), cigarette smoke, alcohol, mercury (a neurological toxicant consumed through fish), carbon dioxide, and ionizing radiation.

Alcohol

Drinking alcohol in pregnancy can result in a range of disorders known as fetal alcohol spectrum disorders. The most severe of these is fetal alcohol syndrome.

Tobacco smoke

Main article: Smoking and pregnancy

Fetal exposure to prenatal tobacco smoke may experience a wide range of behavioral, neurological, and physical difficulties. Adverse effects include stillbirth, placental disruption, prematurity, lower mean birth weight, physical birth defects (cleft palate etc.), decrements in lung function, increased risk of infant mortality.

Mercury

Elemental mercury and methylmercury are two forms of mercury that may pose risks of mercury poisoning in pregnancy. Methylmercury, a worldwide contaminant of seafood and freshwater fish, is known to produce adverse nervous system effects, especially during brain development. Eating fish is the main source of mercury exposure in humans and some fish may contain enough mercury to harm the developing nervous system of an embryo or fetus, sometimes leading to learning disabilities. Mercury is present in many types of fish, but it is mostly found in certain large fish. One well-documented case of widespread mercury ingestion and subsequent fetal development complication took place in the 1950s in Minamata Bay, Japan. Used by a nearby industrial plant in the manufacture of plastics, methyl mercury was discharged into the waters of Minamata Bay, where it went on to be ingested regularly by many villagers who used the fish living in the bay as a dietary staple. Soon, many of the inhabitants who had been consuming the mercury-laden meat began experiencing negative effects from ingesting the toxin; however, the mercury especially impacted pregnant women and their fetuses, resulting in a high rate of miscarriage. Surviving infants exposed to mercury in-utero had extremely high rates of physical and mental handicaps, as well as physical abnormalities from exposure in the womb during key stages in fetal physical development. The United States Food and Drug Administration and the Environmental Protection Agency advise pregnant women not to eat swordfish, shark, king mackerel and tilefish and limit consumption of albacore tuna to 6 ounces or less a week.

High mercury levels in newborns in Gaza are theorized to originate from war weaponry.

Mercury exposure in pregnancy may also cause limb defects.

Lead

Adverse effects of lead exposure in pregnancy include miscarriage, low birth weight, neurological delays, anemia, encephalopathy, paralysis, and blindness.

The developing nervous system of the fetus is particularly vulnerable to lead toxicity. Neurological toxicity is observed in children of exposed women as a result of the ability of lead to cross the placental barrier. A special concern for pregnant women is that some of the bone lead accumulation is released into the blood during pregnancy. Several studies have provided evidence that even low maternal exposures to lead produce intellectual and behavioral deficits in children.

Dioxin

Dioxins and dioxin-like compounds persists in the environment for a long time and are widespread, so all people have some amount of dioxins in the body. Intrauterine exposure to dioxins and dioxin-like compounds have been associated with subtle developmental changes on the fetus. Effects on the child later in life include changes in liver function, thyroid hormone levels, white blood cell levels, and decreased performance in tests of learning and intelligence.

Air pollution

Air pollution can negatively affect a pregnancy resulting in higher rates of preterm births, growth restriction, and heart and lung problems in the infant.

Compounds such as carbon monoxide, sulfur dioxide and nitrogen dioxide all have the potential to cause serious damage when inhaled by an expecting mother. Low birth weight, preterm birth, intrauterine growth retardation, and congenital abnormalities have all been found to be associated with fetal exposure to air pollution. Although pollution can be found virtually everywhere, there are specific sources that have been known to release toxic substances and should be avoided if possible by those who wish to remain relatively free of toxins. These substances include, but are not limited to: steel mills, waste/water treatment plants, sewage incinerators, automotive fabrication plants, oil refineries, and chemical manufacturing plants.

Control of air pollution can be difficult. For example, in Los Angeles, regulations have been made to control pollution by putting rules on industrial and vehicle emissions. Improvements have been made to meet these regulations. Despite these improvements, the region still does not meet federal standards for ozone and particulate matter. Approximately 150,000 births occur every year in Los Angeles. Thus, any effects air pollution has on human development in utero are of great concern to those who live in this region.

Particulate matter (PM) consist of a mixture of particle pollutants that remain in the air, and vary be region. These particles are very small, ranging from PM10 to PM 2.5, which can easily enter the lungs. Particulate matter has been shown to be associated with acute cardio-respiratory morbidity and mortality. Intrauterine growth has been shown to be affected by particulate matter, leading to unhealthy outcomes for fetal development such as poor or slow fetal growth, and increasing fetal morbidity and mortality. A study from 2012 found that exposures to PM 2.5 differed by race/ethnicity, age, as well as socioeconomic status, leading to certain populations experiencing greater negative health outcomes due to environmental pollution, especially relating to particulate matter.

Pesticides

Pesticides are created for the specific purpose of causing harm (to insects, rodents, and other pests), pesticides have the potential to serious damages to a developing fetus, should they be introduced into the fetal environment. Studies have shown that pesticides, particularly fungicides, have shown up in analyses of infant's cord blood, proving that such toxins are indeed transferred into the baby's body. Overall, the two pesticides most frequently detected in cord blood are diethyltoluamide (DEET) and vinclozolin (a fungicide). Although pesticide toxicity is not as frequently mentioned as some of the other methods of environmental toxicity, such as air pollution, contamination can occur at any time from merely engaging in everyday activities such as walking down a pathway near a contaminated area, or eating foods that have not been washed properly. In 2007 alone, 1.1 billion pounds of pesticides were found present in the environment, causing pesticide exposure to gain notoriety as a new cause of caution to those wishing to preserve their health.

A 2013 review of 27 studies on prenatal and early childhood exposures to organophosphate pesticides found all but one showed negative neurodevelopmental outcomes. In the ten studies that assessed prenatal exposure, "cognitive deficits (related to working memory) were found in children at age 7 years, behavioral deficits (related to attention) seen mainly in toddlers, and motor deficits (abnormal reflexes), seen mainly in neonates."

A systematic review of neurodevelopmental effects of prenatal and postnatal organophosphate pesticide exposure was done in 2014. The review found that "Most of the studies evaluating prenatal exposure observed a negative effect on mental development and an increase in attention problems in preschool and school children."

In 2017, a study looked at the possible effects of agricultural pesticides in over 500,000 births in a largely agricultural region of California and compared their findings to birth outcomes in other less agriculturally dominated California areas. Overall, they found that pesticide exposure increased adverse birth outcomes by 5–9%, but only among those mothers exposed to the highest quantities of pesticides. 

Benzenes

Benzene exposure in mothers has been linked to fetal brain defects especially neural tube defects. In one study, BTEX (Benzene, toluene, ethylbenzene, xylenes) exposure during the first trimester of pregnancy has been clearly indicating negative association with biparietal brain diameter between 20 and 32 weeks of pregnancy. Women with high exposure to toluene had three to five times the miscarriage rate of those with low exposure, and women with occupational benzene exposure have been shown to have an increased rate of miscarriages. Paternal occupational exposure to toluene and formaldehyde has also been linked to miscarriage in their partners. Normal development is highly controlled by hormones, and disruption by man made chemicals can permanently change the course of development. Ambient ozone has been negatively associated with sperm concentration in men, chemicals associated with UOG operations (e.g., benzene, toluene, formaldehyde, ethylene glycol and ozone) have been associated with negative impacts on semen quality, particularly reduced sperm counts.

A 2011 study found a relationship between Neural Tube Defects and maternal exposure to benzene, a compound associated with natural gas extraction. The study found that mothers living in Texas census tracts with higher ambient benzene levels were more likely to have offspring with neural tube defects, such as spina bifida, than mothers living in areas with lower benzene levels.

Other

• Heat and noise have also been found to have significant effects on development.
• Carbon dioxide – decreased oxygen delivery to brain, intellectual deficiencies
• Ionizing radiation – miscarriage, low birth weight, physical birth defects, childhood cancers
• Environmental exposure to perchlorate in women with hypothyroidism causes a significant risk of low IQ in the child.

Avoiding relevant environmental toxins in pregnancy

The American College of Nurse-Midwives recommends the following precautions to minimize exposure to relevant environmental toxins in pregnancy:

• Avoiding paint supplies such as stained glass material, oil paints and ceramic glazes, and instead using watercolor or acrylic paints and glazes.
• Checking the quality of the tap water or bottled water and changing water drinking habits if necessary.
• If living in a home built before 1978, checking whether lead paint has been used. If such is the case, paint that is crumbling or peeling should not be touched, a professional should remove the paint and the site should be avoided while the paint is removed or sanded.
• To decrease exposure to pesticides; washing all produce thoroughly, peeling the skin from fruits and vegetables or buying organic produce if possible.
• Avoiding any cleaning supply labeled "toxic" or any product with a warning on the label, and instead trying natural products, baking soda, vinegar and/or water to clean.

Natural gas development

In a rural Colorado study of natural gas development, maternal residence within a 10-mile radius of natural gas wells was found to have a positive association to the prevalence of congenital heart defects (CHDs) and neural tube defects (NTDs). Along with this finding, a small association was found between mean birth weight and the density and proximity to the natural gas wells. Maternal exposure through natural gas wells may come in the form of benzene, solvents, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), and other air pollutants such as toluene, nitrogen dioxide, and sulfur dioxide.

In Pennsylvania, unconventional natural gas producing wells increased from zero in 2005 to 3689 in 2013. A 2016 study of 9384 mothers and 10946 neonates in the Geisinger Health System in Pennsylvania found prenatal residential exposure to unconventional natural gas development activity was associated with preterm birth and physician-recorded high-risk pregnancy. In Southwest Pennsylvania, maternal proximity to unconventional gas drilling has been found to be associated with decreased birth weight. It was unclear which route of exposure: air, soil or water could be attributed to the association. Further research and larger studies on this topic are needed.

Endocrine disruptors are compounds that can disrupt the normal development and normal hormone levels in humans. Endocrine-disrupting chemicals (EDCs) can interact with hormone receptors, as well as change hormone concentrations within the body, leading to incorrect hormone responses in the body as well as disrupt normal enzyme functioning. Oil and gas extraction has been known to contribute to EDCs in the environment, largely due to the high risk of ground and surface water contamination that comes with these extractions. In addition to water contamination, oil and gas extraction also lead to higher levels of air pollution, creating another route of exposure for these endocrine disruptors. This problem often goes under-reported, and therefore, the true magnitude of the impact is underestimated. In 2016, a study was conducted to assess the need for an endocrine component to health assessments for drilling and extraction of oil and gas in densely populated areas. With the high potential for release of oil and gas chemicals with extraction, specifically chemicals that have been shown to disrupt normal hormone production and function, the authors highly emphasized the need for a component centering around endocrine function and overall health with health assessments, and how this in turn impacts the environment.

Role of the placenta

The healthy placenta is a semipermeable membrane that does form a barrier for most pathogens and for certain xenobiotic substances. However, it is by design an imperfect barrier since it must transport substances required for growth and development. Placental transport can be by passive diffusion for smaller molecules that are lipid soluble or by active transport for substances that are larger and/or electrically charged. Some toxic chemicals may be actively transported. The dose of a substance received by the fetus is determined by the amount of the substance transported across the placenta as well as the rate of metabolism and elimination of the substance. As the fetus has an immature metabolism, it is unable to detoxify substances very efficiently; and as the placenta plays such an important role in substance exchange between the mother and the fetus, it goes without saying that any toxic substances that the mother is exposed to are transported to the fetus, where they can then affect development. Carbon-dioxide, lead, ethanol (alcohol), and cigarette smoke in particular are all substances that have a high likelihood of placental transferral.

Identifying potential hazards for fetal development requires a basis of scientific information. In 2004, Brent proposed a set of criteria for identifying causes of congenital malformations that also are applicable to developmental toxicity in general. Those criteria are:

• Well-conducted epidemiology studies consistently show a relationship between particular effects and exposure to the substance.
• Data trends support a relationship between changing levels of exposure and the specific effect.
• Animal studies provide evidence of the correlation between substance exposures and particular effects.

Chinese Lunar Exploration Program

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chinese_Lunar_Exploration_Program 

 

Chinese Lunar Exploration Program

Program insignia: a lunar crescent with two footprints at its center. The symbol resembles 月 [zh], the Chinese character for "Moon".
Country	China
Organization	China National Space Administration (CNSA)
Purpose	Robotic Moon missions
Status	Active
Program history
Duration	2004 – present
First flight	Chang'e 1, 24 October 2007, 10:05:04.602 UTC
Last flight	Chang'e 5, 23 November 2020, 20:30 UTC
Successes	7
Failures	0
Launch site(s)	Xichang Satellite Launch Center Wenchang Spacecraft Launch Site
Vehicle information
Uncrewed vehicle(s)	lunar orbiters, landers, rovers and sample return spacecraft
Launch vehicle(s)	Long March rockets

The Chinese Lunar Exploration Program (CLEP; Chinese: 中国探月; pinyin: Zhōngguó Tànyuè), also known as the Chang'e Project (Chinese: 嫦娥工程; pinyin: Cháng'é Gōngchéng) after the Chinese moon goddess Chang'e, is an ongoing series of robotic Moon missions by the China National Space Administration (CNSA). The program incorporates lunar orbiters, landers, rovers and sample return spacecraft, launched using Long March rockets. Launches and flights are monitored by a telemetry, tracking, and command (TT&C) system, which uses 50-meter (160-foot) radio antennas in Beijing and 40-meter (130-foot) antennas in Kunming, Shanghai, and Ürümqi to form a 3,000-kilometer (1,900-mile) VLBI antenna. A proprietary ground application system is responsible for downlink data reception.

Ouyang Ziyuan, a geologist, chemical cosmologist, and the program's chief scientist, was among the first to advocate the exploitation not only of known lunar reserves of metals such as titanium, but also of helium-3, an ideal fuel for future nuclear fusion power plants. Ye Peijian serves as the program's chief commander and chief designer. Scientist Sun Jiadong is the program's general designer and Sun Zezhou is deputy general designer. The leading program manager is Luan Enjie.

The first spacecraft of the program, the Chang'e 1 lunar orbiter, was launched from Xichang Satellite Launch Center on 24 October 2007, having been delayed from the initial planned date of 17–19 April 2007. A second orbiter, Chang'e 2, was launched on 1 October 2010. Chang'e 3, which includes a lander and rover, was launched on 1 December 2013 and successfully soft-landed on the Moon on 14 December 2013. Chang'e 4, which includes a lander and rover, was launched on 7 December 2018 and landed on 3 January 2019 on the South Pole-Aitken Basin, on the far side of the Moon. A sample return mission, Chang'e 5, which launched on 23 November 2020 and returned on 16 December in the same year, brought 1,731 g (61.1 oz) of lunar samples back to earth.

As indicated by the official insignia, the shape of a calligraphic nascent lunar crescent with two human footprints at its center reminiscent of the Chinese character 月, the Chinese character for "Moon", the ultimate objective of the program is to pave the way for a crewed mission to the Moon. China National Space Administration head Zhang Kejian announced that China is planning to build a scientific research station on the Moon's south pole "within the next 10 years," (2019–2029).

Program structure

The Chinese Lunar Exploration Program is divided into four main operational phases, with each mission serving as a technology demonstrator in preparation for future missions. International cooperation in the form of various payloads and a robotic station is invited by China.

Phase I: Orbital missions

The first phase entailed the launch of two lunar orbiters, and is now effectively complete.

• Chang'e 1, launched on 24 October 2007 aboard a Long March 3A rocket, scanned the entire Moon in unprecedented detail, generating a high definition 3D map that would provide a reference for future soft landings. The probe also mapped the abundance and distribution of various chemical elements on the lunar surface as part of an evaluation of potentially useful resources.
• Chang'e 2, launched on 1 October 2010 aboard a Long March 3C rocket, reached the Moon in under 5 days, compared to 12 days for Chang'e 1, and mapped the Moon in even greater detail. It then left lunar orbit and headed for the Earth–Sun L₂ Lagrangian point in order to test the TT&C network. Having done that it completed a flyby of asteroid 4179 Toutatis on 13 December 2012, before heading into deep space to further test the TT&C network.

Phase II: Soft landers/rovers

Before Chang-e 5, no lunar sample-return was conducted in over four decades.

The second phase is ongoing, and incorporates spacecraft capable of soft-landing on the Moon and deploying lunar rovers.

• Chang'e 3, launched on 2 December 2013 aboard a Long March 3B rocket, landed on the Moon on 14 December 2013. It carried with it a 140 kilograms (310 pounds) lunar rover named Yutu, which was designed to explore an area of 3 square kilometers (1.2 square miles) during a 3-month mission. It was also supposed to conduct ultra-violet observations of galaxies, active galactic nuclei, variable stars, binaries, novae, quasars, and blazars, as well as the structure and dynamics of the Earth's plasmasphere.
• Chang'e 4 was launched on 7 December 2018. Originally scheduled for 2015, was a back-up for Chang'e 3. However, as a result of the success of that mission, the configuration of Chang'e 4 was adjusted for the next mission. It landed on 3 January 2019 on the South Pole-Aitken Basin, on the far side of the Moon, and deployed the Yutu-2 rover.

Phase III: Sample-return

The third phase included a lunar sample-return mission.

• Chang'e 5-T1 was launched on 23 October 2014. It was designed to test the lunar return spacecraft.
• Chang'e 5 was launched on 23 November 2020, landed near Mons Rümker on the moon on 1 December 2020, and returned to earth with 2 kilograms of lunar soil on 16 December 2020.

Final Phase: Lunar robotic research station

After the "3 steps" phase is done, the phase for the development of an autonomous lunar research station near the Moon's south pole will commence.

• Chang'e 6, expected to launch in 2024, will investigate the topography, composition and subsurface structure of the South Pole–Aitken basin. The mission will return samples to Earth.
• Chang'e 7, expected to launch in 2024, is a mission that will explore the south pole for resources. The mission will include an orbiter, a lander, a rover, and a mini-flying probe.
• Chang'e 8, expected to launch in 2027, will verify the utilization and development of natural resources. It may include a lander, a rover, and a flying detector, as well as a 3D-printing experiment using in situ resource utilization (ISRU) to test-build a structure, It will also transport a small sealed ecosystem experiment. It will test technology necessary to the construction of a lunar science base.

Crewed mission phase

See also: Chinese next-generation crewed spacecraft

As of 2019, China was reviewing preliminary studies for a crewed lunar landing mission in the 2030s, and possibly building an outpost near the lunar south pole with international cooperation.

2035: International moon base and application

In 2021, China and Russia announced they will be building a moon base together, also formally invited more countries and international organizations to join their International Lunar Research Station (ILRS) project being developed by the two nations.

List of missions

Conducted missions

  Planned hard landing   Planned soft landing

Mission	Launch Date	Launch Vehicle	Orbital Insertion Date	Landing Date	Return Date	Notes	Status
							Main Mission	Extended Mission
Phase 1
Chang'e 1	24 Oct 2007	Long March 3A	7 Nov 2007	1 Mar 2009	-	Lunar orbiter; first Chinese lunar mission.	Success	-
Chang'e 2	1 Oct 2010	Long March 3C	6 Oct 2010	-	-	Lunar orbiter; following lunar orbit mission flew extended mission to 4179 Toutatis.	Success	Success
Phase 2
Chang'e 3	1 Dec 2013	Long March 3B	6 Dec 2013	14 Dec 2013	-	Lunar lander and rover; first Chinese lunar landing, landed in Mare Imbrium with Yutu 1.	Success	-
Queqiao 1	20 May 2018	Long March 4C	14 Jun 2018	-	-	Relay satellite located at the Earth-Moon L2 point in order to allow communications with Chang'e 4.	Ongoing	-
Chang'e 4	7 Dec 2018	Long March 3B	12 Dec 2018	3 Jan 2019	-	Lunar lander and rover; first ever soft landing on the Far side of the Moon, landed in Von Karman crater with Yutu-2.	Ongoing	-
Phase 3
Chang'e 5-T1	23 Oct 2014	Long March 3C	10 Jan 2015	-	31 Oct 2014	Experimental test flight testing technologies ahead of first Lunar sample return; tested return capsule and lunar orbit autonomous rendezvous techniques and other maneuvers.	Success	Ongoing
Chang'e 5	23 Nov 2020	Long March 5	28 Nov 2020	1 Dec 2020	16 Dec 2020	Lunar orbiter, lander, and sample return; which landed near Mons Rümker and returned 1731g of lunar soil to Earth. The service module made a visit to Lagrange point L1 and also performed a lunar flyby in extended mission.	Success	Ongoing

Upcoming missions

Mission	Launch Date	Launch Vehicle	Mission Type	Notes
Phase 4
Chang'e 6	2024	Long March 5	Lunar sample return	Lunar orbiter, lander, and sample return; scheduled to land at the South Pole–Aitken basin near the lunar south pole.
Chang'e 7	2024	Long March 5	Lunar surface survey	Lunar orbiter, lander, rover, and mini-flying probe; expected to perform in-depth exploration of the lunar south pole to look for resources.
Chang'e 8	2027	Long March 5	Lunar surface survey	Full mission details are currently unknown; may test new technologies including an ISRU system, ahead of future crewed exploration of the Moon.

Key technologies

Long-range TT&C

See also: Chinese Deep Space Network

The biggest challenge in Phase I of the program was the operation of the TT&C system, because its transmission capability needed sufficient range to communicate with the probes in lunar orbit. China's standard satellite telemetry had a range of 80,000 kilometers (50,000 miles), but the distance between the Moon and the Earth can exceed 400,000 kilometers (250,000 miles) when the Moon is at apogee. In addition, the Chang'e probes had to carry out many attitude maneuvers during their flights to the Moon and during operations in lunar orbit. The distance across China from east to west is 5,000 kilometers (3,100 miles), forming another challenge to TT&C continuity. At present, the combination of the TT&C system and the Chinese astronomical observation network has met the needs of the Chang'e program, but only by a small margin.

Environmental adaptability

The complexity of the space environment encountered during the Chang'e missions imposed strict requirements for environmental adaptability and reliability of the probes and their instruments. The high-radiation environment in Earth-Moon space required hardened electronics to prevent electromagnetic damage to spacecraft instruments. The extreme temperature range, from 130 degrees Celsius (266 degrees Fahrenheit) on the side of the spacecraft facing the Sun to −170 degrees Celsius (−274 degrees Fahrenheit) on the side facing away from the Sun, imposed strict requirements for temperature control in the design of the detectors.

Orbit design and flight sequence control

Given the conditions of the three-body system of the Earth, Moon and a space probe, the orbit design of lunar orbiters is more complicated than that of Earth-orbiting satellites, which only deal with a two-body system. The Chang'e 1 and Chang'e 2 probes were first sent into highly elliptical Earth orbits. After separating from their launch vehicles, they entered an Earth-Moon transfer orbit through three accelerations in the phase-modulated orbit. These accelerations were conducted 16, 24, and 48 hours into the missions, during which several orbit adjustments and attitude maneuvers were carried out so as to ensure the probes' capture by lunar gravity. After operating in the Earth-Moon orbit for 4–5 days, each probe entered a lunar acquisition orbit. After entering their target orbits, conducting three braking maneuvers and experiencing three different orbit phases, Chang'e 1 and Chang'e 2 carried out their missions.

Attitude control

Lunar orbiters have to remain properly oriented with respect to the Earth, Moon and Sun. All onboard detectors must be kept facing the lunar surface in order to complete their scientific missions, communication antennas have to face the Earth in order to receive commands and transfer scientific data, and solar panels must be oriented toward the Sun in order to acquire power. During lunar orbit, the Earth, the Moon and the Sun also move, so attitude control is a complex three-vector control process. The Chang'e satellites need to adjust their attitude very carefully to maintain an optimal angle towards all three bodies.

Hazard avoidance

During the second phase of the program, in which the spacecraft were required to soft-land on the lunar surface, it was necessary to devise a system of automatic hazard avoidance in order that the landers would not attempt to touch down on unsuitable terrain. Chang'e 3 utilized a computer vision system in which the data from a down-facing camera, as well as 2 ranging devices, were processed using specialized software. The software controlled the final stages of descent, adjusting the attitude of the spacecraft and the throttle of its main engine. The spacecraft hovered first at 100 meters (330 feet), then at 30 meters (98 feet), as it searched for a suitable spot to set down. The Yutu rover is also equipped with front-facing stereo cameras and hazard avoidance technology.

Cooperation with Russia

In November 2017, China and Russia signed an agreement on cooperative lunar and deep space exploration. The agreement includes six sectors, covering lunar and deep space, joint spacecraft development, space electronics, Earth remote sensing data, and space debris monitoring. Russia may also look to develop closer ties with China in human spaceflight, and even shift its human spaceflight cooperation from the US to China and build a crewed lunar lander.