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China Targets 2018 For Landing Probe On Far Side of Moon (reuters.com)
An anonymous reader writes: Despite all the time we've spent studying the moon, nobody has ever deployed a probe to its far side. Now, China has announced that it plans to land a probe there in 2018. The craft they plan to send is similar to the Chang'e-3 probe with its Jade Rabbit rover. They plan to study the geologic conditions on the far side of the moon. "China insists that its space program is for peaceful purposes. However, the U.S. Defense Department has highlighted China's increasing space capabilities, saying it was pursuing activities aimed at preventing its adversaries from using space-based assets during a crisis. In March, the Chinese government said it would open up its lunar exploration program to companies rather than simply relying on the state-owned sector as before, hoping to boost technological breakthroughs."
The gobi desert is already part of china, I don't think they need to rule over more dirt. There isn't really anything precious on the moon, except perhaps the dust which can be used in fusion reactors one day.
Guess we'll just have to park some satellites up there. So much for radio silence in the region.
“He’s not deformed, he’s just drunk!”
Careful of the nazis there.
Isn't that where the monolith lies?
Is that no one knows whether you were successful or not...
While I can only assume you are joking, isnt it insightful that the US DoD thinks it should raise issue with the Chinese having a space presence, when all they are doing is playing a long delays game of catch up to the US?
Surely by the same interpretations, the US has already pursued 'activities aimed at preventing its adversaries from using space-based assets during a crisis'?
But no, this is after the CHINESE, not the people who are the defenders of goodness and freedom that is the US of A.
I can only imagine that the Chinese well know that destroying markets for their own produced goods would greatly advance their success..
Oh, wait a moment, that makes no sense at all. Silly me.
Who cares about making sense? Bring on the next space race already...
If construction was anything like programming, an incorrectly fitted lock would bring down the entire building...
they better bring flashlights.
I don't worry about China's space efforts. I worry about those of the U.S. Which nation has invaded countries and been at war for the vast majority of it's history?
I do not fail; I succeed at finding out what does not work.
The Chinese have tested anti-satellite weapons, which is what the USA has raised objections to, and the USA has not done though presumably could. Their moon program obviously has no practical military dimension.
This space intentionally left blank
Probe of the dark side of Uranus, looking for Klingons.
"Transparent" is a shit show that trades on every stereotype going. A man in drag is NOT a transsexual.
And today nobody has rockets powerful enough to prove you didn't land on the far side of the moon.
We used to have a Bill of Rights. Now, with the rights gone, all we have left is the bill.
First oh now they are worried about china activities in space maybe they can get some of that military cash sent to NASA We could have a rover parked there in the spot china has picked out before china even gets theirs launched. If anyone cared enough about space or space defense to fund it.
Second China is going to open up their lunar program to private companies? I bet their last rover having all its wheels lock up had something to do with that.
Minimum threshold fixed. Thanks!
The OP was making a reference to Iron Sky.
Thirty four characters live here.
"let's not forget that they [China] intentionally created a whole bunch of dangerous and unwanted space debris back in 2007 with an anti-satellite missile test. Nothing peaceful about blowing up satellites."
As in "no other country*1 would do that"?
*1 Except, of course, USA.
It's easy to forget this which happened 1 year after the 2007 test.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/...
You got this right though, "Nothing peaceful about blowing up satellites."
"let's not forget that they [China] intentionally created a whole bunch of dangerous and unwanted space debris back in 2007 with an anti-satellite missile test. Nothing peaceful about blowing up satellites."
As in "no other country*1 would do that"?
*1 Except, of course, USA.
Well, the Soviet Union did it too. We and the Soviets at least had the taste to pick satellites orbiting closer to the atmosphere, so the debris wouldn't be around for a century or so.
Uh, we have the LRO, which can image any location on either side of the Moon with 10 cm resolution.
The aliens stationed there storing the mutilated cattle parts might care.
But I don't think the Chinese are party to the agreements which forbid Americans going back to the moon.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?...
One of the possible interesting things about the moon is the possible prevalence of Helium 3, a rare (on earth) isotope that could make nuclear fusion super-easy. Perhaps it is more common on the far side of the moon?
I love Mondays. On a Monday, anything is possible.
The US has tested anti satellite weapons.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/...
The US performed two tests with two different systems. The one above destroyed a satellite.
As the article you cite shows, the U.S. had as least the pretext trying to prevent an accident by an already de-orbiting satellite and the remains of the destruction de-orbited within a few months.
Now of course the U.S. could just have had its satellite de-orbit on purpose but even then this launch could be seen as a demonstration of U.S. capabilities necessary after the Chinese test to uphold mutual deterence ("If you kill our satellites, we will kill yours").
The far side is not always dark to sunlight, but it is dark to radio transmissions from Earth. Also "Darkest Peru" in the sense of unexplored wilderness.
Windows Vista was more like the Hubble Space Telescope. Both were launched successfully, usable in reduced functionality mode despite serious flaws, and ultimately repaired in the field. Hubble got a corrective lens, and Windows Vista got Service Pack 1 "Mojave".
Hillary will really start feeling the Bern
Until his staffers mistakenly DMCA his campaign website off the Internet, like they did with his Wikipedia article.
The Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter was launched in 2009 and as far as I can tell it is still orbiting the moon. Its science mission may be finished though. In any case, keeping satellites in permanent orbit near the moon isn't simple, because of gravitational anomalies of the moon:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/...
RETURN without GOSUB in line 1050
Civilian and military work have been tightly linked since the very start of the space age. Half the purpose of launching Sputnik was to test a new rocket that had been developed for use as an ICBM. And even today, in the new age of the commercial space industry, they're still tightly linked. Notice that United Launch Alliance, one of the three companies that's been awarded a launch contract by NASA, is a joint venture between Lockheed Martin and Boeing--both major defense contractors.
So if China is developing a civilian space program, it's a pretty good bet they also have a military space program. Because so does everyone else.
Anyway, if they want to study the far side of the moon, I think that's awesome. If we have to have military space programs, I'm glad something useful is coming out of it too.
"I'm too busy to research this and form an educated opinion, but I do have time to tell everyone my uninformed opinion."
Presumably you mean dark like basalt. Otherwise, only half of the moon is in darkness at any one time. Several days ago the dark side was the near side, as I assume everyone here on /. knows.
BTW, this mission was widely reported in the press as aiming for a landing on the dark side of the Moon. At least here on /. they got it right: the far side.
https://tools.wmflabs.org/geoh...
Why are people saying things (not only on slashdot) like "nobody has ever deployed a probe to [the Moon's] far side" Is there a joke I'm not getting?