China plans three-phase Moon exploration

NewScientist.com ^ | March 03, 2003 | Will Knight

[Willie Green]

For education and discussion only. Not for commercial use.

China has revealed further details of its plans to explore the Moon - the first unmanned probe could be launched by 2005, say officials. They also hinted that the motivation for the missions is to mine the Moon's resources.

The lunar program, named Chang'e after a legend about a fairy that visits the moon, would be in three phases. First an orbiter would be sent to the Moon, followed by a lander, and then finally a sample return craft.

"We will be able to embark on a maiden unmanned mission within two and a half years if the government endorses the scheme now,'' Ouyang Ziyuan, chief scientist of China's lunar exploration programme, told The People's Daily.

However, a firm timetable for these missions has not been announced and funding has yet to be approved.

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.
 
Head of the queue

"They've already developed the capabilities to operate spacecraft around the Moon and even on its surface," he told New Scientist.

China has so far launched four "Shenzhou" spacecraft in preparation for a crewed mission into space. Such an achievement would make China only the third nation in the world, after the US and Russia, to place humans in space.

Oberg adds that China has set itself a number of ambitious goals. "As with their manned programme, they don't intend to recreate the US and Russian programmes," he says. "They intend to go to the head of the queue in terms of capabilities."

[Pahuanui]

If China succeeds, then America will go the way medievel China went.

Oh, please. The sky is not falling.

[Pablo64]

So is this the same China that can't get a misile off the launch pad (or did the traitor Klintoon fix that when he sold out our nation's rocket technology for some campaign loot?). Never mind, I know the answer.

[ChicagoRepublican]

You're right. It's just turning Red ;-)

[Gary Boldwater]

I agree with you 100%. The moon should be private property,owned by those who can colonize it.

[asneditor]

I hope the Moon People eat em!

[Atlas Sneezed]

Chinese Moon Cake

This recipe for Mooncakes comes from Shanghai. Originally made in moon cake molds with imprints such as chrysanthemum pattern or other traditional Chinese characters. They should be about three inches (seven centimeters) in diameter. Before baking - invent and draw your own "traditional patterns"!

4 cups flour

4 tbsp. brown sugar

half tsp. salt

4oz (11Og) margarine

1 egg

1 tsp. sesame oil

For the filling:

2 tbsp. peanuts

2 tbsp. sesame seeds

2 tbsp. walnuts or pine nuts

2 tbsp. chestnuts, boiled until tender, or blanched almonds

2 tbsp. sultanas or other dried fruit, chopped

2 tbsp. chopped dried apricots

4 tbsp. brown sugar

2 tbsp. Margarine

2 tbsp. rice flour or poppy seeds

Preheat oven to 400F or 200C - Recipe makes about 15 cakes.

Sift the flout, sugar and salt together.

Chop the margarine into pieces and rub into the flour until crumbs form.

Add enough hot water (about half a cup) to make a pastry dough.

Cover with a cloth.

Roast the peanuts in a hot pan for two minutes.

Add the sesame seeds, then put a lid on to stop them from jumping out of the pan.

Roast for a further two minutes.

Put the peanuts and seeds in a food processor or blender and grind with the other nuts.

Add to the rest of the filling ingredients and mix together.

Roll out the pastry on a floured board.

Cut rounds with a pastry cutter to fill the mold - if you have one - or make little pie cases.

Rub the mold with margarine and spread pastry over the bottom and sides of the mold.

Put in a tablespoon of filling. Press down gently.

Wet the edges of the pastry and cover with another round to make a lid.

Seal together, and remove from the mold if you are using one.

Put all the cakes on a greased baking sheet. Beat the eggs and sesame oil together and brush each cake with this mixture.

Bake about thirty minutes until the cakes are golden brown.

[Citizen of the Savage Nation]

Our Space Race to the Moon against the Soviet Union wasn't actually about going to the Moon.

Quite true. Similarly, China's lunar objectives aren't about going to the Moon either.

True, but pointless. They're 35 years late.

[Theophilus]

Ziyuan said exploring the Moon "probably holds the key to humanity's future subsistence and development".

Well, if China maintains it's "one child (a boy) policy", the last PRC citizen (a lonely and horny man) can blast off for the moon in about 20 shrinking generations. The fact is, people are China's greatest asset but their idiot government thinks it needs more rock. At least they're not spending those billions on more communist education.

[Wavyhill]

Seriously, that would not be the best strategy. The main purpose for going to the Moon is not for vanity. It's to establish a colony to provide raw materials for space industry, which can also be used to supply military space stations to be used against the Chinese. There are two problems with using Mars as a source of raw materials.

First, Mars is almost a years' journey away by the least fuel-expensive orbit. This is only a short-term problem, however, if we can eventually have continuous flights from Mars to the space stations.

Second, and more importantly, Mars has much higher gravity than the Moon, so the energy cost is far more to get raw materials out of the gravitational "hole" into orbit--although it's still less costly than the current plan of lifting stuff from Earth.

Now, the asteroids would be preferable to either as a source of raw materials--but they may be too far away for the limited imaginations of Congressmen or NASA bureaucrats.

[Enemy Of The State]

only trouble is that China has been studying our methods of dealing with Communist countries in order to avoid ending up like the rest. Washington needs to seriously rethink its dealings with China and call them out for the trouble makers they are. Decrease trade with the slimy weasles and it will effectively cut off the funding for their military as well as their "space program"

[Enemy Of The State]

"For education and discussion only. Not for commercial use."

Willy, what they heck does this mean?

[Verginius Rufus]

China plans three-phase moon exploration? I assume that means first quarter, full moon, and last quarter.

[Willie Green]

Willy, what they heck does this mean?

It's a "fair use" disclaimer.
I'm not a lawyer, but I understand it has something to do with copyright law.
I got into the habit of including it with all the articles I post.
It was a widely discussed issue here a few years ago,
I haven't seen any recent threads on the topic, but I still include the sentence as a lead-in anyway.

[DoctorMichael]

........They also hinted that the motivation for the missions is to mine the Moon's resources........

I refer anyone to Robert Zubrin's ENTERING SPACE (Chapter 5): The moon has very little marketable resources. In fact, the moon lacks sufficient resources for true colonization. The moon is a place to 'do' science and could serve as a stepping stone to the other solar system's bodies...............its worthless, otherwise.

[chesty_puller]

Why does anyone give a rat's butt if China goes to the moon?

[Willie Green]

Same reason we had conniptions when Russia floated Sputnik over our heads.

[ffusco]

Don't we own the Moon? Don't they need permission to orbit? Won't our Moon Base Alpha send Eagles to destroy them?

[ffusco]

China also plans a mission to the Sun. They're gonna land at night.

[ffusco]

But it will be fun to watch them this time, My father said I saw the first one on TV, but I was only a few months old. And it will be even more enjoyable ( think Icarus ) when they fail spectacularly. Nevertheless I hope they use the latest STOLEN technology and PIRATED software. I wouldn't want any of their pilots (like those fine folks that clipped our recon plane) to die horribly, yeah,that would really be upsetting.

[anymouse]

Let me see a socialist leaning 'science' publication does a puff piece on Chinese space aspirations. Why don't I believe this is more than opportunistic propaganda?