China sets sights on Moon mission

CNN ^ | March 3, 2003

[Cincinatus' Wife]

BEIJING, China (CNN) -- Chinese space scientists, already believed to be preparing for the country's first manned space mission later this year, are setting their sights on the moon.

Plans have been submitted for an initial series of unmanned moon satellites and probes, paving the way for later manned missions, state-owned media reported Monday.

[Cincinatus' Wife]

China plans three-phase Moon exploration***Mineral and energy resources - Ziyuan said exploring the Moon "probably holds the key to humanity's future subsistence and development". Chinese officials have previously said that some sort of permanent, most likely unmanned, base could be established on the Moon's surface by 2010. Furthermore, Luan Enjie, director of China National Space Administration, hinted that China would be interesting in exploiting rare resources found on the Moon's surface. "The prospect for the development and utilisation of the lunar potential mineral and energy resources provide resource reserves for the sustainable development of human society," he told the newspaper.

However, James Oberg, a space analyst and veteran of the US space program, believes the projects are more about national pride than scientific or industrial exploration. Nonetheless, he says the lunar missions are well within China's means. ***

August 2001 - U.S Air Force and NASA Work Closer on Strategic Space Control - Some good LINKS to stories about the Chinese space program.

[bannie]

Landing on Hillary's aaaaa...well, I couldn't resist.

:D

[Cincinatus' Wife]

The communist leadership in Beijing regards the space effort as a key indicator of China's rapid development and a focus for national pride.

Yes, I'd put that on Hillary's ideological plate and the Clintons' campaign contribution history.

[Frankss]

First American on the moon in 1969- Soon the Chinese will put a man in space! 2004-6? There are American flags and cars on the moon already.

[The_Victor]

There are American flags and cars on the moon already.

Rusting hulks of a bygone era. I, for one, am glad to see the competition from China. Perhaps it will energize the American public in support of a real space program that sends Americans in space to stay there.

[Eric in the Ozarks]

I think we should tell the Chinese we own it and stay off.

[carmelanne]

 

China plans three-phase Moon exploration
NewScientist.com ^ | March 03, 2003 | Will Knight
Posted on 03/03/2003 3:52 PM PST by Willie Green
 

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/news/856128/posts

[Cincinatus' Wife]

I did LINK that above.

[Cincinatus' Wife]

There are American flags and cars on the moon already.

There should be Americans there.

[KevinDavis]

I doubt it very much. Most of the American people is a bunch of wimps.

[Cincinatus' Wife]

....we own it and stay off.

Possession is best illustrated if you're sitting on it.

[Cincinatus' Wife]

Perhaps it will energize the American public in support of a real space program that sends Americans in space to stay there.

If we don't get it in gear, as a nation we're doomed.

[SquirrelKing]

Mmmmmm...China Moon...

[Conspiracy Guy]

Good for them. I hope that someday I'll look up and see a yellow moon year round. Are they going for the just to mine the cheese?

[apillar]

Actually I think this could end up being a VERY good thing for US space exploration.

I think seeing the flag of communist China being planted on the moon might "shock" the our people and government into treating the space program as something more than corporate welfare for the major aerospace companies, which is all it has been since the mid 1970's.

America has had a virtual "monopoly" on space exploration for the last 30 years (even more so after the Soviet Union fell). Like all monopolies this one has led to stagnation and inefficiency. China "breaking" the monopoly might be the best thing that could happen for space exploration.

[Orbiting_Rosie's_Head]

Perhaps we could stop for some General Tso's Chicken on our way home from Mars.

[The_Victor]

I doubt it very much. Most of the American people is a bunch of wimps.

As long as liberals spew their bilge like, "we have too many problems at home to be spending billions of $ sending mankind into space...", America can count on a back seat in the new space race. It costs money to go into space, and until we find profitable reasons to go to the moon/Mars/Europa/?, we will have to accept the public expendature, or the back seat. I'm not absolutely convinced that we are collectively a bunch a wimps, but I fear that it may be so.

[Brett66]

American flags on the moon will come as little consolation as we will be stuck in LEO on an ISS studying astronaut's vomit as they hop around on the moon. It just demonstrates our failure in true exploration.

[gridlock]

< RANT > CNN HAS REALLY PI$$ED ME OFF!

Look at this article. Every single projected Chinese date is biased forward as much as possible. It talks at great length about the unmanned missions that will happen in the next couple of years, and the fact that any manned landing is more than 10 years off (at best) is buried in the middle paragraphs. They even add the caption "The first mission to the moon could lift off within two-and-a-half years, scientists say..." to the sexy rocket shot. The first line states that they are planning a manned shot later this year. If the Chinese get a man in space in 2003 I will eat my star-spangled hat!

Meanwhile, when they talk about the American program, they give the date that the Apollo Program ended. All this talk about firsts, and they don't say that the US landed on the moon for the first time in 1969, but that we landed the last time on 1973.

It's just a systematic bias in the article that elevates the ChiComms and diminishes the US. CNN is beneath contempt!

< /RANT >

[Brett66]

The only positive development in the direction of human exploration at NASA is the NEXT program along with Project Prometheus. I hope,after ISS construction is complete, we don't waste a single day wondering about what to do next. We need to build a base at the L1 point for supporting operations involving human missions to the moon, near-Earth-asteroids, and eventually Mars. Unfortunately I still see NASA struggling with the OSP in the 10-20 year time frame after they show "surprise" at how expensive it is. Unless there are national security considerations driving a return to the moon, I don't see NASA going back. The real hope is in private enterprise going to the moon and establishing a real and sustainable presence there.