--- description: Chinese scientists are planning to launch an artificial moon into orbit by 2020 to illuminate city streets after dark title: China to Launch 'Artificial Moon' to Light Up Night Skies image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltc5d14dbcb9838624/69893cfa457a52d0d4d5faa2/gettyimages-1044153376.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [World](/section/world/) ## World Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close * [China](/tag/china/) ## China Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # China Plans to Launch an 'Artificial Moon' to Light Up the Night Skies by [Eli Meixler](/author/eli/) ## Eli Meixler Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Oct 19, 2018 9:33 AM CUT  A full moon over the sky at Dingdu peak during the Mid-Autumn Festival in Beijing, China on Sept. 24, 2018. A full moon over the sky at Dingdu peak during the Mid-Autumn Festival in Beijing, China on Sept. 24, 2018.VCG—Getty Images by [Eli Meixler](/author/eli/) ## Eli Meixler Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Oct 19, 2018 9:33 AM CUT The night skies might soon have company: Chinese scientists are planning to launch[ an artificial moon](http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/a/201810/19/WS5bc922f3a310eff303283431.html "undefined") into orbit by 2020 to illuminate city streets after dark. Scientists are hoping to hang the man-made moon above the city of Chengdu, the capital of China’s southwestern Sichuan province, according to a report in Chinese state media. The imitation celestial body — essentially an illuminated satellite — will bear a reflective coating to cast sunlight back to Earth, where it will supplement streetlights at night. Scientists estimated that it could be eight times more luminous than the actual, original moon. It will also orbit much closer to Earth; about 500 km (310 miles) away, compared to the moon’s 380,000 km (236,000 miles). But the ambitious plan still wouldn’t “light up the entire night sky,” Wu Chunfeng, chief of the Tian Fu New Area Science Society, told China _Daily._ “Its expected brightness, in the eyes of humans, is around one-fifth of normal streetlights.” Wu estimated that new moons could save the city of Chengdu around 1.2 billion yuan ($173 million) in electricity costs annually, and could even assist first responders during blackouts and natural disasters. If the project proves successful, it could be joined by three more additions to the night sky in 2022, he said. **Read more**: [_Science: Space Mirror_](http://content.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,819776,00.html "undefined") But much more testing needs to be done, Wu said, to ensure the plan is viable and will not have a detrimental effect on the natural environment. “We will only conduct our tests in an uninhabited desert, so our light beams will not interfere with any people or Earth-based space observation equipment,” he told the _Daily_. China’s space goals are not unprecedented. In the 1990s, Russia [experimented](https://www.nytimes.com/1993/02/05/world/russia-s-mirror-in-space-reflects-the-light-of-the-sun-into-the-dark.html "undefined") with using an orbital mirror to reflect sunlight on some of its sun-deprived northern cities, according to the New York _Times_. The project was [abandoned](https://www.nytimes.com/1999/02/06/world/russian-scientists-abandon-failed-giant-space-mirror.html "undefined") in 1999 after the mirror failed to unfold and was incinerated in the atmosphere. In January, American firm Rocket Lab launched an [artificial star](https://www.nytimes.com/2018/01/28/science/rocket-lab-humanity-star.html "undefined") into space, the _Times_ reported. But scientists criticized the “Humanity Star,” as the reflective mini-satellite was dubbed, for contributing to artificial light pollution and cluttering in Earth’s orbit. ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/5429288/china-chengdu-artificial-moon/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/5429288/china-chengdu-artificial-moon/"},"headline":"China Plans to Launch an 'Artificial Moon' to Light Up the Night Skies","datePublished":"2018-10-19T09:33:52.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-23T21:47:22.190Z","description":"Scientists hope a man-made moon could provide nighttime lighting at lower cost","url":"https://time.com/5429288/china-chengdu-artificial-moon/","keywords":["China","onetime","overnight"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltc5d14dbcb9838624/69893cfa457a52d0d4d5faa2/gettyimages-1044153376.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Eli Meixler","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/eli/"}],"articleSection":"World","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltc5d14dbcb9838624/69893cfa457a52d0d4d5faa2/gettyimages-1044153376.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"Mid-Autumn Festival Celebrations In China","caption":"Mid-Autumn Festival Celebrations In China","creditText":"VCG—Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/world/","name":"World"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/china/","name":"China"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/5429288/china-chengdu-artificial-moon/","name":"China Plans to Launch an 'Artificial Moon' to Light Up the Night Skies"}}]}] ```