Haytor Neidan Self-Cultivation!

Ch’an Dao Blog Article – Neidan As We Get Older! (18.4.2025)

I suspect the ancient Greeks encountered Buddhist monasticism when visiting India (such as Pythagoras), learned the Buddhist method of “looking within”, and then adjusted the technique as a means to “prove” the efficacy of their particular philosophical perspectives (the work of Plotinus may be taken as an example of this endeavour). Later, via the Greeks, a community of Jews (in Qumran) started sitting in meditation to personally attain a “glimpse of Yahweh” – a practice that eventually spread to the reformed Jewish sect of “Christianity” – whose adherents started to meditate whilst sat in the caves found in the Egyptian Desert (this type of Christianity spread to Britain – hundreds of years prior to Catholicism – becoming “Celtic Christianity”).

Yuri Gagarin Monument - UK!

USSR: Yuri Gagarin – “AD 1961” – First Man in Space! (13.4.2025)

Yet one of the most unexpected tributes to the first cosmonaut lies far from space museums or bustling capitals — on the windswept Orkney Islands, off the north coast of Scotland.

Here, just steps from the Neolithic village of Skara Brae – a UNESCO World Heritage Site inhabited over 5,000 years ago – stands a carved stone that simply reads: “First Man in Space, AD 1961”. Nestled among markers of human milestones, it honours Gagarin’s place in our shared journey — from ancient stargazers to modern explorers.

This is a quiet reminder that Gagarin’s reach extends far beyond Earth’s orbit — and even beyond the expected.

💐 Recently Russian Ambassador to the UK Andrei Kelin and Russian Consul General in Edinburgh Denis Moskalenko laid flowers at the site, paying tribute to the first man in space.

PRC Moon Shot!

China: Manned Lunar Programme Adnvances for 2030 Moon Landing! (4.3.2025)

After reaching their pre-set orbital positions, the Lanyue lander and the Mengzhou vessel will rendezvous and dock. Two crew members will enter the lander, which will then undock and descend toward the lunar surface for an engine-assisted soft landing.

On the moon, the cosmonauts will drive a Tansuo rover to carry out scientific tasks and collect samples. Upon completion of their assignments, they will return to the Lanyue module, which will fly them back to their spaceship waiting in lunar orbit.

In the final stage, the astronauts will carry the samples into the Mengzhou spacecraft, which will then undock and carry the crew back to Earth.

To prepare for the challenging adventure, China has selected its fourth group of cosmonauts, who are currently training for lunar landing and surface operations.

A hypothetical illustration of Mars 3.6 billion years ago.(Photo/Aerospace Information Research Institute)

China’s Mars Rover Data Suggests Existence of Ancient Oceans on Mars! (3.3.2025)

If an ocean once existed in this region, climate changes could have trapped large amounts of water in the form of subsurface ice, which holds great potential for future Mars base water resources, significantly reducing the cost of construction and maintenance.

Fang emphasized that the ancient oceanic sediments preserve records of Mars’ climatic history. Studying these sediments could help people understand how the planet transitioned from a warm, wet world to a cold, arid one. This knowledge could guide efforts to terraform Mars into a long-term sustainable human habitation, according to Fang.

Fang mentioned that Zhurong landed in the southern part of Utopia Planitia in mid-May 2021. It is equipped with a subsurface penetrating radar to explore underground structures and potential water ice deposits.

Mars Rover Beats US!

China: Socialist Space Science Builds Advanced Mars Rover! (13.2.2025)

Weighing just around 300 grams — about the same as an apple — the robot can roll on the ground and take flight to pass over obstacles. It was created by a research team at the Harbin Institute of Technology (HIT). The team has developed multiple versions of the aerial/terrestrial robot, achieving an endurance time six times longer than similar-sized unmanned aerial vehicles. These robots can be used to perform tasks such as monitoring, probing, and maintenance. They come in various forms, such as two-wheeled or spherical designs. They can be adapted to different terrains, and they can also be equipped with manipulators to perform screwing or pressing actions.

Socialist Science Triumphs!

China: Socialist Light Shone on “Big Bang”! (26.1.2025)

Many experts at home and abroad said that the observation results of EP240315a by the EP satellite have deepened humanity’s understanding of early universe gamma-ray bursts, offer fresh insights into the origins and evolution of the universe, Xinhua reported.

The EP mission is one of a series of space science missions led by CAS. This is an international collaboration effort, featuring contributions from the European Space Agency (ESA), the Max Planck Institute for Extra-terrestrial Physics (MPE) in Germany, and the French space agency CNES.

Launched into space in January 2024, the satellite has achieved several initial discoveries, such as an uncommon transient phenomenon, advancing understanding of the universe and extreme physical phenomena, Xinhua reported.

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