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China planning moon landing as first step to Mars
spacedaily.com ^ | 20 May 02 | AFP

Posted on 05/20/2002 10:23:21 AM PDT by RightWhale

China planning moon landing as first step to Mars

BEIJING (AFP) May 20, 2002

China may be planning to go to the moon in the course of the next decade, but an exhibition here Monday suggested it has far more ambitious goals -- Mars.

A model at the exhibition, organized for the country's National Science Week, showed China's vision of a permanent settlement on the red planet, a sci-fi fantasy replete with shiny domes and large greenhouses.

"From a long-term perspective, it is a historical necessity for man to travel into space," a poster at the exhibition proclaimed.

Chinese media reported last month that scientists were developing a new family of rockets that supposedly could send explorers to Mars.

While most Chinese scientists admit that a Mars mission is still a distant prospect, some have argued that the relevant technologies might as well be developed now.

One such device, a six-wheel robotic detector which could become China's first representative on the planet, was unveiled at the exhibition, which opened as China renewed vows to push ahead with its fledgling but ambitious space program.

China has yet to even put a man into orbit but official media claim, amid great official secrecy, that great strides are being made.

Its third successful unmanned test flight, the Shenzhou III, or "Divine Vessel III", traveled 108 times around the earth on a flight that ended April

The Shenzhou IV mission is still only being planned, but the state-run China Daily reported Monday that China had already carried out feasibility studies for traveling to the moon.

"Theoretically speaking, China is ready to explore the moon," Ouyang Ziyuan, chief scientist of China's moon exploration program, said according to the paper.

"China is expected to complete its first exploration of the moon in 2010 and will establish a base on the moon as we did in the South Pole and the North Pole," he said.

Chinese media said over the weekend that the nation's space scientists were planning a lunar base in order to exploit its mineral resources.

The Beijing Morning Post said China had adopted a three-step plan that would eventually make it possible to fly to the moon.

China first wants to put an astronaut in space, then establish a space laboratory, and eventually set up a space station, the paper said.

The paper quoted Wang Zhuangyin, a leading space-program engineer, as saying China would probably be able to achieve manned space flight by 2005.

The push to promote China's space program during National Science Week tallies with observers' claim that the plans are meant to trigger greater interest in technology among the public.

The tone at the exhibition also showed there is a great deal of self-interest involved in China's bid to become the third nation after the United States and the former Soviet Union to put a human in space.

"The development and actual use of technologies for manned space flight have far-reaching significance for our nation in the political, military, economic and technological fields," a poster at the exhibition said.

The Chinese government said in November 2000 that the aims of its space program included meeting growing demands for national security and to "protect China's national interests and build up comprehensive national strength".


TOPICS: Extended News; Foreign Affairs
KEYWORDS: mars; moon; nonnasa
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To: robertpaulsen
I had an Estes rocket that looked like that. I reworked the ailerons on the shuttle/glider several times so that it would assume a wider and wider circular glide path, but I must have overdone it on the last flight, since it just took off like an arrow never to be seen again.

Maybe the Chinese found it and reverse engineered the thing.

41 posted on 05/20/2002 12:01:24 PM PDT by Wm Bach
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To: RightWhale
There wouldn't be the excitement of a Saturn V liftoff, most of the construction launches would be ho-hum ordinary unmanned rockets. Wouldn't that be a kick?

It would indeed. How's this grab you: build the basic shuttle as an open framework using something like the ISS trusses. Bolt a pre-fab propulsion module (engines and tanks) on one end, crew compartment (if needed) on the other. Bolt shielding around the sensitive areas.

Attitude control provided by control moment gyros, with jet backup. Attitude determination using star-field trackers. Power generated by solar cells bolted onto the "sides" of the trusswork -- possibly on three sides. This also stiffens the structure considerably.

Autonomous orbit determination using TDRS-type GEO satellites, with a standard ground-based backup.

Cargo modules bolt onto the open trusswork. There'd have to be some means for active CG control, but I suspect that's mostly a matter of accounting for mass properties, and a water distribution system for ballast operations.

As an added bonus, never plan to put the moon shuttle into lunar orbit -- just let it complete the figure-8 and stop it back in Earth orbit. Instead, strap a propulsion module onto the cargo unit, and let it put itself into lunar orbit.

(But note -- there's a whole lot of infrastructure going on here....)

42 posted on 05/20/2002 12:02:43 PM PDT by r9etb
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To: r9etb
a whole lot of infrastructure going on

That points up a gripe of mine. O'Keefe is referring to the ground facilities of NASA as infrastructure. Fine, but it isn't space infrastructure. NASA has no space infrastructure, it is all surface infrastructure. The moon shuttle would be space infrastructure, and space infrastructure is what will make the lunar base, the Phobos base, the eventual Mars base, the deep orbit base and all the other bases possible.

43 posted on 05/20/2002 12:09:08 PM PDT by RightWhale
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To: rageaholic
SHHHHHHH... He's busy trying to find the "REAL" killer(s).
44 posted on 05/20/2002 12:10:27 PM PDT by linuxnut
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Comment #45 Removed by Moderator

To: RightWhale
If the Chicoms get to the moon, who says they won't just "claim it", and all its mineral production will be theirs in perpetuity.

One way to stop that is to just acknowledge that whomever gets there gets the goods. There will be some Bill Gates type that will fund a way to get up there faster than the Chicoms can say boo. And no matter what, it will be built here in the US, because we have all the technology (so far).

The US became a real coast-to-coast country by building the transcontinental railroad. We built it by loaning the companies money to build it, and by giving them a part of the land they built across. Prior to then, the land had been virtually worthless, there being no transport system. The railroads paid back their loans on time, and with interest. The US got a continent sized country, with a tax base that's still growing. The railroads sold the now-worth-something land, and made money. Everybody won. (don't bring up the indians. They "won" too, but won't acknowledge it)

Why not do the same thing with the moon?

I used to work for NASA. Anybody worth a damn left in the mid 70's, and all that's left are lousy bureaucrats.

46 posted on 05/20/2002 12:17:20 PM PDT by narby
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To: Digger
Just maybe we never put a man on the moon is why we aren't going back....

Hmmm... Nope we actually did land humans on the moon. (project Apollo) :-)

47 posted on 05/20/2002 12:17:53 PM PDT by RadioAstronomer
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To: one_particular_harbour
just be happy

Don't worry,
Be happy.

We are happy as clams.

48 posted on 05/20/2002 12:18:01 PM PDT by RightWhale
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Comment #49 Removed by Moderator

To: narby
You recall the US Forest Service is already administering Tranquillity Base as an Historic Site? Sounds like a claim to me.
50 posted on 05/20/2002 12:21:21 PM PDT by RightWhale
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To: RightWhale
Are you back full-time?

Remember who prints money. They don't have the money, they'll buy another barrel of ink.

Hi I am Back!!! Finally. :-)

The prob is getting that barrel ink thru congress. It takes longer to get an interplanetary mission thru congress than the actuall flight time.

51 posted on 05/20/2002 12:22:02 PM PDT by RadioAstronomer
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To: narby
If the Chicoms get to the moon, who says they won't just "claim it", and all its mineral production will be theirs in perpetuity.

One can make an effective counter-argument with a well-placed box of rocks. (I mean that quite literally.)

52 posted on 05/20/2002 12:22:16 PM PDT by r9etb
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To: RadioAstronomer
It was Congress rather than the White House that first wanted a manned moon landing during JFK's admin. Then it was done and Congress promptly and typically forgot all about it. Congress has nearly zero corporate memory. When Congress sees the Chinese going for the moon, they will very likely start up another space race much bigger than the ABM or Apollo programs. We should thank China, and congratulate them for their gallant attempt even though they will lose the race.

No more Sputnik surprises. beep . . . beep . . . beep . . .

53 posted on 05/20/2002 12:33:43 PM PDT by RightWhale
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To: one_particular_harbour
You nailed my biggest gripe about NASA with your post. NASA used to be about science, about taking chances, about progress. Now, it's a gov't job with stability and benefits. Unions have taken over jobs of technicians and engineers. Politicians get to use NASA as a photo-op. Heck, when I worked there, and astronauts from Challenger were killed (people I actually knew and worked with), NASA organized a site-wide ceremony to say 'good-bye'. However, 3 hours before it was to start, we were dis-invited so some politicians could fly in, sit in our seats, and give speeches to reporters. The spirit NASA had in the 60-70's is long dead. I wish it weren't true, but it is.
54 posted on 05/20/2002 12:50:29 PM PDT by Hodar
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To: Hodar
I missed your side of NASA (thank God) I was at JPL doing interplanetary work. It is kinda diff than the rest of NASA. :-) I left JPL to work on Space Station. I quit within two years.
55 posted on 05/20/2002 1:04:33 PM PDT by RadioAstronomer
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To: RightWhale
No more Sputnik surprises. beep . . . beep . . . beep . . .

I really hope so!

56 posted on 05/20/2002 1:05:10 PM PDT by RadioAstronomer
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To: Jay W
"I do not believe that this generation of Americans is willing to resign itself to going to bed each night by the light of a Communist moon..." - Lyndon B. Johnson Possibly the ONLY LBJ quote worthy of this forum.

While that was true for LBJ's generation, I doubt it is for the current generation. A year or so ago Jay Leno on his "Jay Walking" stint came across a young college graduate from one of California's esteemed state universities, and asked her how many moons Earth has. Her answer? Five.

This only begins to point to the scope of the problem we're dealing with today.

Oh, I agree. There is nothing to indicate that the American people would once again bristle at the thought of a "Communist moon". After all, "we" gave Bill Clinton two terms in the White House, elected Hillary! and came unbelievably close to electing Al Gore. Clearly, much of the electorate is comfortable with Communists.

I also agree that education is so lacking that we could not engage in another real "Space Race". We could sure crank out some whiz-bang "Artist's Conception" computer-generated graphics for the networks to use, though. No more space capsules cut from construction paper wiggling towards a construction paper moon.

57 posted on 05/20/2002 1:08:36 PM PDT by Charles Martel
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To: RightWhale
The country that learns to effectively operate in space is the only country that will matter in the coming century. Any country that wants to make a place for itself needs to skip over current technologies, and current rivalries and current competitions, and go for the gold ring.

Once that happens, the stuff we are scrapping about now won't matter anymore, and it won't matter who won or lost battles no one cares about anymore.

Who cares who has Taiwan, or the West Bank, or Chechnya, once you have planted your boots on Mars, and set your sights on the Asteroid Belt? Who will care who controls which oil fields?

If the Chinese are thinking in these terms, they are right to do so, and if we are not, we will wish we had. We should plan to have private contractors operating on the moon in 7 years, Mars in 12, and the Asteroids in 20, if we plan to matter at all in our grandchildren's time. We are headed down a blind alley, and the only way to save ourselves is to make the big jump, and make it now.

58 posted on 05/20/2002 1:13:21 PM PDT by marron
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To: r9etb
Does everything have to start with the [US or Chinese] government building a moon base? Are there any private companies trying to do stuff, like mine asteroids? Or were all the private companies geared towards launching satellites for Direct TV or something?

How about this one to get an industry started:

ONE WAY SPACE TOURISM

Do you have six months or less to live? Would you like to do something special with your remaining time? Strap yourself into one of our space capsules, and you'll be sure to go out with a BANG! Free space burial at the end, too. Only $1,000,000.

Maybe I have my service priced too low.

59 posted on 05/20/2002 1:28:40 PM PDT by ReveBM
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To: Hodar
Maybe we are just at the wrong historical stage of things right now. Maybe we first have to have our nuclear war with the Islamics and the Red Chinese, before we finally build the first warp drive in Montana and the vulcans come rescue us. Yeah, that's the ticket...
60 posted on 05/20/2002 1:44:41 PM PDT by ReveBM
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