Chinese city to replace streetlights with artificial moon by 2020

Chengdu, a city in China, has unveiled plans to replace the city’s streetlights with an illumination satellite, also known as “artificial moon” by the year 2020.

According to Independent UK, Wu Chunfeng, chairman of Chengdu aerospace science and technology microelectronics system research institute, disclosed this at a national mass innovation and entrepreneurship activity held in the city.

According to Chunfeng, Chengdu’s streetlights will be replaced with the satellite that will boost the glow of the real moon.

He said the testing of the illumination started years ago and is now ready.

He was quoted as saying the artificial moon is eight times brighter than the real moon.

The artificial moon will reportedly be able to light an area within a diameter of 10 to 80 kilometres while the precise illumination range can be controlled within a few dozen meters.

He said the man-made moon will have a coating that can reflect light from the sun with solar panel-like wings, adding that the angles of these wings can then be adjusted to allow the light to focus on a precise location.

However, the exact details of the spacecraft, the launch date and how the artificial moon would be maintained were not revealed.