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China Names Chang'e 3 Lunar Landing Site 'Guang Han Gong' Or 'Moon Palace' (examiner.com)
MarkWhittington writes: One of the privileges of landing on the moon is that the country that does so gets to name the landing site. For example, the International Astronomical Union has officially recognized "Tranquility Base", using the Latin designation "Statio Tranquillitatis", as the site where the Apollo 11 astronauts first landed and walked on the moon on July 20, 1969. Now, according to a story in Moon Daily, the site where the Chinese Chang'e 3 probe landed has been named "Guang Han Gong" which translates as "Moon Palace." The name has also been recognized by the IAU.
Moon Palace is the name of my favorite local Chinese restaurant.
China today asserted its “indisputable sovereignty” over the landing site surrounding its Chang'e 3 moon probe.
The area under Chinese claim - approximately one lunar hemisphere - has been renamed the 'North China Ocean'. As justification, China noted its long cultural and historical ties to the moon, recently underscored by the arrival of Chang'e 3. China also angrily objected to a US lunar satellite currently orbiting the moon. "It is intolerable", said a Chinese Defense Ministry spokeswoman. "Our national sovereignty is violated during half of each orbit of the US craft". She demanded the United States immediately restrict its satellite to orbit the hemisphere outside of the Chinese claim.
Plans were also announced for a new Chinese heavy-lift spaceship. The first launch - planned for 2018 - will send 240 Chinese astronauts (or 'taikonauts') to the moon, accompanied by several hundred tons of construction equipment. Once on the moon, the taikonauts will launch a massive lunar rock-mining operation designed to provide raw material for new Chinese lunar city. The city (tentatively called "New Kangbashi") will eventually house 202 shopping malls, 2002 security personnel, and 20200 visiting tycoons. It will also serve as operating base for hundreds of Yutu Guàiwù (or 'Moon Rabbit') vehicles. A uniquely Chinese design, the Moon Rabbit is large 2-legged, hopping spacetank. The design takes advantage of the weak lunar gravity to use two 'legs' to propel itself long distances over the lunar surface. This allows the comparatively small Chinese security presence to patrol the large Chinese claim. Equipped with large footpads, each hop of the Moon Rabbit also flattens the lunar surface underfoot. Over time, it is hoped this action will create extensive flattened surfaces, jumpstarting further property development, especially in the highly coveted lunar maria areas.
Treaties prohibiting the weaponization of space also mean that each 'Moon Rabbit' patrol vehicle is unarmed. Instead, it enforces security by simply stomping security threats (or recalcitrant residents) underfoot. The Moon Rabbit is designed to detect the presence of cameras and other digital recording devices nearby. If detected, it can simply hop over protesters blocking its path without loss of face (A design feature developed in response to the Tank Man incident).