Slashdot Mirror
China Plans To Land Probes On Far Side of Moon, Mars By 2020 (phys.org)
China has revealed some ambitious plans for space domination in the 2020s. On Tuesday, China set out its plans to become the first country to land a probe on the far side of the moon, in around 2018, and launch its first Mars probe by 2020. Phys.Org reports: "To explore the vast cosmos, develop the space industry and build China into a space power is a dream we pursue unremittingly," read a white paper setting out the country's space strategy for the next five years. It says China aims to use space for peaceful purposes and to guarantee national security, and to carry out cutting edge scientific research. The white paper released by the information office of China's Cabinet points to the growing ambitions of China's already rapidly advancing space program. Although the white paper doesn't mention it, China's eventual goal is the symbolic feat of landing an astronaut on the moon. The white paper reiterated China's plans to launch its first Mars probe by 2020, saying this would explore and bring back samples from the red planet, explore the Jupiter system and "conduct research into major scientific questions such as the origin and evolution of the solar system, and search for extraterrestrial life." The paper says the Chang'e-4 lunar probe will help shed light on the formation and evolution of the moon.
What advantage would you have in landing a probe on the far side and concealing it ?
Trump has no principle. Rallying against China is just the typical Trump propaganda tool. If Trump had any backbone, he would not have sourced his products from China, nor would he have used Chinese steel in his buildings.
By not fulfilling our international obligates, we are give China more opportunities to step in and fill our void. This type of detail is probably too nuanced for Trump to understand nor be bother with.
Whether or not we want those international responsibilities is another matter. . . .
This is somewhat astounding to me, that Trump doesn't understand this. It makes a lot of sense to look at this from a business perspective, but Trump doesn't seem to be doing so.
China and the EU, to some extent, are the competition to the US. We're competing for business, skilled labor, economic power, political influence, and military might. The rest of the world can be thought of as customers, potentially even the EU and China, if the US is dominant enough. But we have to act in such a way that maximizes the benefits to Americans while maintaining dominance in the world. Put in business terms, we want to be a monopolist while ensuring we're making hefty profits.
What Trump is proposing to do is insisting that we renegotiate all our contracts with customers, offering less services and at higher prices. While that might increase profits, it opens the door for the competition to come in. In the short term, you might actually increase your profits because you have a monopoly. In the long term, you may well lose your monopoly as competition enters the markets, and lose more profits than if you had simply maintained the contracts to your customers.
Trump is a businessman, so I'm surprised he doesn't see this. Perhaps there's a reason he's had so many failed business ventures, though, because this seems like no way to run a business. In business terms, we need to be focused on keeping our customers happy right now, not on how we can raise our prices.