EVERY nation needs heroes. And China got two new ones in Fei Junlong and Nie Haisheng when their Shenzhou VI capsule parachuted onto the grasslands of Inner Mongolia in the early hours of 17 October. Their five-day mission has become a bold statement of national pride, technological capability and intent to conquer space. And with a technologically savvy Japan and an emerging India both expanding their activities in space, there is much talk of a new space race in Asia.
But experts contacted by New Scientist see it differently. While the years ahead will see Asia becoming a force…
