China Launches Satellite To Explore Dark Side of Moon (reuters.com)

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China Launches Satellite To Explore Dark Side of Moon (reuters.com)

Posted by msmash on Monday May 21, 2018 @05:25AM from the up,-up,-and-away dept.

China launched a relay satellite early on Monday designed to establish a communication link between earth and a planned lunar probe that will explore the dark side of the moon, the official Xinhua news agency said. From a report: Citing the China National Space Administration, Xinhua said the satellite was launched at 5:28 a.m. (2128 GMT Sunday) on a Long March-4C rocket from the Xichang launch center in the southwest of the country. "The launch is a key step for China to realize its goal of being the first country to send a probe to soft-land on and rove the far side of the moon," Xinhua quoted Zhang Lihua, manager of the relay satellite project, as saying.

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"DARK SIDE OF THE MOON" by Mattcelt · 2018-05-21 05:29 · Score: 5, Insightful

"Dark" side of the moon? In this day and age, seriously?? Even the translation of China's press release correctly refers to it as the FAR side of the moon, which actually gets slightly MORE light than the near side!
1. Re:"DARK SIDE OF THE MOON" by cayenne8 · 2018-05-21 05:35 · Score: 5, Interesting
  
  There is no dark side of the moon really....
  'matter of fact, it's all dark....thump thump....thump thump....thump thump.....
  
  --
  Light travels faster than sound. This is why some people appear bright until you hear them speak.........
2. Re:"DARK SIDE OF THE MOON" by Anonymous Coward · 2018-05-21 05:40 · Score: 0
  
  Hollywood called it "Dark of the moon" in one of the Transformers movies.
3. Re:"DARK SIDE OF THE MOON" by djh101010 · 2018-05-21 05:43 · Score: 5, Informative
  
  It's just a Pink Floyd quote. Calm your tits, man.
4. Re:"DARK SIDE OF THE MOON" by DigiShaman · 2018-05-21 05:43 · Score: 1
  
  There, they will find Pink Floyd
  
  --
  Life is not for the lazy.
5. Re:"DARK SIDE OF THE MOON" by Actually,+I+do+RTFA · 2018-05-21 05:44 · Score: 2, Informative
  
  Dark" side of the moon... actually gets slightly MORE light
  Dark isn't always a synonym for "dim". On of the definitions of dark (and the version being used) not known or explored because of remoteness. For instance, did you think that the "deep, dark heart of the jungle" referred to an area we knew was in the shade?
  
  --
  Your ad here. Ask me how!
6. Re:"DARK SIDE OF THE MOON" by Tablizer · 2018-05-21 05:46 · Score: 1
  
  "Dark"...seriously?? Even the translation of China's press release correctly refers to it as the FAR side of the moon
  It was translated in the dark.
  
  --
  Table-ized A.I.
7. Re:"DARK SIDE OF THE MOON" by Anonymous Coward · 2018-05-21 05:53 · Score: 0
  
  but...but...but, what about Transformers: Dark of Moon, so this is actually Transformers: Sightly more light than the near side?? Do YOU want to tell Michael Bay.... DO YOU??
8. Re:"DARK SIDE OF THE MOON" by Anonymous Coward · 2018-05-21 05:57 · Score: 1
  
  pink floyd, man.
  plus, for such awesome intellectuals, such as yourself, it's so much safer to go with simplified terminology that the stupids can understand.
9. Re:"DARK SIDE OF THE MOON" by slashdice · 2018-05-21 05:58 · Score: 3, Funny
  
  Worst appeal to authority ever.
  
  --
  Copyright (c) 1990 - 2014 Dice. All rights reserved. Use of this comment is subject to certain Terms and Conditions.
10. Re:"DARK SIDE OF THE MOON" by Anonymous Coward · 2018-05-21 05:59 · Score: 1
  
  I don't know I was really drunk at the time.
11. Re:"DARK SIDE OF THE MOON" by ClickOnThis · 2018-05-21 06:00 · Score: 0
  
  Mod this up. Using the term "dark" is sloppy, but tenable.
  
  --
  If it weren't for deadlines, nothing would be late.
12. Re:"DARK SIDE OF THE MOON" by skoskav · 2018-05-21 06:01 · Score: 1
  
  The pedant in me will now hold Reuters accountable for any lack of future scientific reports from the craters in perpetual shadow on the poles.
13. Re:"DARK SIDE OF THE MOON" by Kulahan · 2018-05-21 06:05 · Score: 1
  
  This was a statement for the masses. If you said the "far" side of the moon, it would sound odd and confusing to the majority of people. Those who know there's no such thing as a "dark" side of the moon are probably smart enough to know that the guys sending the satellite up into space know this as well.
14. Re:"DARK SIDE OF THE MOON" by meglon · 2018-05-21 06:08 · Score: 1
  
  At least some country is putting up some https://www.youtube.com/watch?... for exploration.
  
  --
  Fascism: An authoritarian and nationalistic right-wing system of government and social organization. See also: NAZI's
15. Re:"DARK SIDE OF THE MOON" by meglon · 2018-05-21 06:10 · Score: 1
  
  I don't know that that's an appeal to authority... an appeal to... um... drek, maybe?
  
  --
  Fascism: An authoritarian and nationalistic right-wing system of government and social organization. See also: NAZI's
16. Re:"DARK SIDE OF THE MOON" by RhettLivingston · 2018-05-21 06:22 · Score: 1
  
  Slightly in the editor's defense, Reuters did use "dark side" in their title translation.
  However, I just checked and many other sources got it right. The editor should have corrected this by finding a better source article. Shame on Slashdot. Double shame on Reuters - they really, really should know better.
  Out of curiosity, I just did a quick survey by searching Google news for both "china dark side of the moon" and "china far side of the moon". It appears both that "far side" does win and that most that said "dark side" are just repeats of the Reuters mistake. The world is not as dumb as I feared.
17. Re:"DARK SIDE OF THE MOON" by RhettLivingston · 2018-05-21 06:24 · Score: 1
  
  Good journalism seeks to communicate clearly and effectively. Choosing "dark" instead of "far" in this case does not achieve that.
18. Re:"DARK SIDE OF THE MOON" by Monkey-Wrench-Inc · 2018-05-21 06:36 · Score: 1
  
  Shine on you crazy diamond.
19. Re:"DARK SIDE OF THE MOON" by cayenne8 · 2018-05-21 06:37 · Score: 1
  
  I don't know I was really drunk at the time.
  "You had to explain why you were mad......even if you were not mad....."
  
  --
  Light travels faster than sound. This is why some people appear bright until you hear them speak.........
20. Re: "DARK SIDE OF THE MOON" by bill_mcgonigle · 2018-05-21 06:48 · Score: 1
  
  Well played, sir. But welcome to autism central, home of narrow minds, egotism, and the inability to see shades of either meaning or moons.
  
  --
  My God, it's Full of Source!
  OUTSIDE_IP=$(dig +short my.ip @outsideip.net)
21. Re:"DARK SIDE OF THE MOON" by Thelasko · 2018-05-21 06:50 · Score: 2
  
  I thought most people explored Dark Side of The Moon in college. The Chinese seem to be a little late to the game.
  
  Somebody told me that The Moon was a belief that life had no meaning. That really put that album into perspective.
  
  --
  One of our competitors trademarked the term "hypothesis". From now on, we will call them "boneheaded ideas".
22. Re:"DARK SIDE OF THE MOON" by fazig · 2018-05-21 06:59 · Score: 1
  
  Generally, Transformer movies are not known to be of the cerebral sort of entertainment.
  If true*, I'd take it as a nod towards how little Hollywood cares for scientific accuracy or at least how dumb the production thought their audience would be.
  
  *Because I only watched the first one when it came out and don't remember a lot about it other than that they had a ton of generic special effects and a hot blonde female scientists say that the alien signal encoding goes beyond their understanding and maybe they had to switch from Fourier transforms to quantum mechanics. Having had to endure Fourier transforms from every conceivable perspective for the past two semesters of analogue and digital signal processing at that point I knew that I smelled bullshit - technobabble. Although I do not expect the majority of people to pay attention to something like that.
23. Re:"DARK SIDE OF THE MOON" by gnick · 2018-05-21 07:09 · Score: 1
  
  A fantastic track from one of the few albums in Rock & Roll history better than Dark Side of the Moon.
  On a related note, I've got a bike. You can ride it if you like.
  On topic, various definitions of 'dark' allow for 'hidden' or 'mysterious,' which would apply here.
  
  --
  He's getting rather old, but he's a good mouse.
24. Re:"DARK SIDE OF THE MOON" by nospam007 · 2018-05-21 07:15 · Score: 1
  
  "There, they will find Pink Floyd"
  Nonetheless I wish them a great gig in the sky.
25. Re:"DARK SIDE OF THE MOON" by Anonymous Coward · 2018-05-21 07:23 · Score: 0
  
  MODDOWN! ; creimer spam post again!
  creimer wants you to click on his youtube channel, then click on his stupid amazon affiliate link spam on Youtube. There is nothing of value on creimer youtube channel. Only creimer click-bot goes there and it has now been barred by the youtube algorythm.
  
  Creimy Dumpty sat on the wall,
  Creimy Dumpty had a great fall.
  All the king's horses
  And all the king's men
  Couldn't put Creimy Dumpty
  Together again.
  Creimy-Dumpty official video by CVS (435M views, 12M subscribers):
  https://www.youtube.com/watch?...
  Chris: here is an IQ test for you: please tell us what is the difference between the first half and the second half of the video?
  P.S. That video is really funny anyway, it's like watching you stumbling over and over again. Of course, with 435,000,000+ views and 12,000,000+ subscribers, it is in a different ball park than the one you are used to be into.
26. Re:"DARK SIDE OF THE MOON" by careysub · 2018-05-21 07:27 · Score: 1
  
  Dark" side of the moon... actually gets slightly MORE light
  Dark isn't always a synonym for "dim". On of the definitions of dark (and the version being used) not known or explored because of remoteness. For instance, did you think that the "deep, dark heart of the jungle" referred to an area we knew was in the shade?
  Are you absolutely sure that references to the jungles of sub-Saharan Africa being "dark" were not references to the skin color of its inhabitants?
  Explorer Henry Morton Stanley coined the phrase "Dark Continent" for Africa in his 1878 book Through the Dark Continent which is a chronicle of his journeys through a central Africa, which was already densely populated by Africans and well known to Arab traders. It was not well known to Europeans, but hardly unknown or unexplored generally.
  But no one uses that phrase anymore. You can fly to the capital of any African nation, and arbitrarily detailed maps and travel guides are available to anyone, anywhere.
  The far side of the Moon was unknown (and thus "dark" in Stanley's phrase, if he was in fact referring to Africa being unknown and not to its inhabitants) but after the Soviet Academy of Sciences published the first atlas of the far side in 1960 it can hardly be said to be unknown anymore.
  
  --
  Starships were meant to fly, Hands up and touch the sky - Nicky Minaj
27. Re:"DARK SIDE OF THE MOON" by ErstO · 2018-05-21 07:39 · Score: 1
  
  Pink Floyd ..... FOREVER
28. Re:"DARK SIDE OF THE MOON" by Anonymous Coward · 2018-05-21 07:41 · Score: 0
  
  Michael Bay thinks that special effects equal plot. It's pointless to try and tell him anything.
29. Re: "DARK SIDE OF THE MOON" by Type44Q · 2018-05-21 07:51 · Score: 1
  
  Next you'll bitch that a light year isn't a unit of distance.
30. Re:"DARK SIDE OF THE MOON" by jellomizer · 2018-05-21 07:55 · Score: 3, Informative
  
  "For instance, did you think that the "deep, dark heart of the jungle" referred to an area we knew was in the shade?"
  Well kinda. The Jungle is heavily forested, the further you go in it beyond man influence. There are not having trees knocked down and a lot of growth overhead, so going deep into the Jungle it will get physically dark. The same if you go into a forest. Deep in the forests it gets somewhat dark. Enough for most vegetation shorter then a tree to not get enough light to grow. Hence why there isn't much grass in a forest.
  
  --
  If something is so important that you feel the need to post it on the internet... It probably isn't that important.
31. Re:"DARK SIDE OF THE MOON" by Hognoxious · 2018-05-21 09:34 · Score: 1
  
  Like darkest Peru, where Paddington Bear comes from.
  
  --
  Confucius say, "Find worm in apple - bad. Find half a worm - worse."
32. Re:"DARK SIDE OF THE MOON" by K.+S.+Kyosuke · 2018-05-21 10:26 · Score: 1
  
  The top and bottom side are really dark in some places.
  
  --
  Ezekiel 23:20
33. Re:"DARK SIDE OF THE MOON" by Anonymous Coward · 2018-05-21 13:01 · Score: 0
  
  So if you give 'em a short, sharp shock, they won't do it again.
34. Re: "DARK SIDE OF THE MOON" by whopis · 2018-05-21 14:28 · Score: 1
  
  And on another related note I would to tell you a story about a little man, if I can.
35. Re:"DARK SIDE OF THE MOON" by allcoolnameswheretak · 2018-05-21 22:31 · Score: 1
  
  "Dark" side of the moon? In this day and age, seriously??
  This is what has you concerned? Seriously?
  How about Space Communists discovering the Space Nazis!! Intergalactic Space War!!!
36. Re:"DARK SIDE OF THE MOON" by BranMan · 2018-05-22 03:20 · Score: 1
  
  I think you all are just cruisin' for a bruisin'.
37. Re:"DARK SIDE OF THE MOON" by painandgreed · 2018-05-22 03:21 · Score: 1
  
  "Dark" side of the moon? In this day and age, seriously?? Even the translation of China's press release correctly refers to it as the FAR side of the moon, which actually gets slightly MORE light than the near side!
  Dark side of the moon also refers to the far side of the moon because it is dark as to our ability to see it since it is always facing away from us. I may not have read this article, but the ones I have read this is very appropriate because the satellite in question has the purpose of being a relay and communicating with the next probe which will land on the far side of the moon that could otherwise not communicate with Earth.
Fresh off Trade War Victory by Anonymous Coward · 2018-05-21 05:30 · Score: 1

Donald Trump surrendered to China while declaring 'victory' in a trade war today, while promising to assist a Chinese telecom company which was caught spying on Americans.
Congratulations on electing an incompetent traitor, morons.
Big deal. We launched real people and returned. by Seven+Spirals · 2018-05-21 05:30 · Score: 0, Troll

In the 1960's, by the way. Fact. Choke on it, China.
1. Re:Big deal. We launched real people and returned. by Anonymous Coward · 2018-05-21 05:41 · Score: 0
  
  yes, but CHina is now as active or more so, WRT to the moon.
  We need CONgress, esp the GOP, to quit wasting money on things like SLS.
2. Re:Big deal. We launched real people and returned. by Anonymous Coward · 2018-05-21 05:44 · Score: 0
  
  Butthurt much? And who are "we" you refer to? YOU certainly didn't do it. The good ol' USA is long gone, sadly.
3. Re:Big deal. We launched real people and returned. by Anonymous Coward · 2018-05-21 05:50 · Score: 0
  
  Sure "we" did. Odd how there's no provable evidence of that. No long range photos of the alleged flag or moon landers on the surface. Odd how no one else has gone there in the interim and how "we" never went back.
  "We" didn't do anything other than stage a low tech hoax.
4. Re:Big deal. We launched real people and returned. by KixWooder · 2018-05-21 05:57 · Score: 4, Informative
  
  Actually we do have photos. http://www.skyandtelescope.com...
  
  --
  I hate fat people.
5. Re:Big deal. We launched real people and returned. by Anonymous Coward · 2018-05-21 05:58 · Score: 0
  
  There's also no proof the Concorde ever flew faster than sound.
6. Re:Big deal. We launched real people and returned. by Anonymous Coward · 2018-05-21 06:03 · Score: 0
  
  Error level analysis indicates those are shopped
7. Re:Big deal. We launched real people and returned. by Anonymous Coward · 2018-05-21 06:06 · Score: 1
  
  Unless you want to start providing hard evidence that we successfully pulled off the most elaborate hoax in the history of mankind, I'm going to move on. I will ask this. If it was a hoax, why did the USSR not point it out? They were following every move we made and tracked our spacecraft with radar just the same as we did.
8. Re:Big deal. We launched real people and returned. by 50000BTU_barbecue · 2018-05-21 06:28 · Score: 1
  
  Point to your analysis and your methodology.
  
  --
  Mostly random stuff.
9. Re:Big deal. We launched real people and returned. by Seven+Spirals · 2018-05-21 06:39 · Score: 1
  
  How the fuck can you be sure? Plenty of the folks who worked at NASA of the 1960's are still around, FYI, coward.
10. Re:Big deal. We launched real people and returned. by Anonymous Coward · 2018-05-21 07:25 · Score: 0
  
  Right, it must have gone between NYC and London in 2 hours by ducking through a wormhole.
  How else are you going to dodge v = d/t ?
11. Re:Big deal. We launched real people and returned. by Anonymous Coward · 2018-05-21 07:49 · Score: 0
  
  If NASA were so successful on faking one of the biggest events of mankind, don't you think they would have done it again by now?
12. Re:Big deal. We launched real people and returned. by Anonymous Coward · 2018-05-21 07:49 · Score: 0
  
  If you were around then you'd probably know that none of NASA's Apollo missions lead them to the far side of the moon. They all chose to explore parts of the near side - that's the side that we can observe from Earth's surface. The Chinese want to visit the other side that is never visible from the surface of Earth.
13. Re:Big deal. We launched real people and returned. by Anonymous Coward · 2018-05-21 08:01 · Score: 0
  
  Whoosh. Literally and figuratively.
14. Re:Big deal. We launched real people and returned. by Anonymous Coward · 2018-05-21 08:34 · Score: 0
  
  try
  {
  CurrentUniversMap.Integrate(Fact)
  }
  catch(exception FactEx)
  {
  Fact.Truth = false;
  }
  Same as EVERYONE else.
Now you done it! by Anonymous Coward · 2018-05-21 05:31 · Score: 0

The nazis have no choice now.
Far Side by Anonymous Coward · 2018-05-21 05:32 · Score: 0

Obviously, both sides get dark but only one side faces the earth.
far side != dark side by Anonymous Coward · 2018-05-21 05:33 · Score: 0

Please update the title to say "far side". There is no "dark side" of the moon, as it rotates once every ~29 days with respect to the sun. However, there is a "far side", which is what China wants to explore. The moon is tidally locked to the Earth so one side always faces us and the other side always faces away. However, both sides are sunlit / dark at various points through the ~29 day rotation/orbit period of the moon. This is why we have both new (dark) moons and full (sunlit) moons visible from Earth.
1. Re: far side != dark side by Anonymous Coward · 2018-05-21 05:38 · Score: 0
  
  Fake News!! The sun never shines on the dark side of the moon! Why would it, we can't see it.
2. Re:far side != dark side by Anonymous Coward · 2018-05-21 05:43 · Score: 0
  
  If an editor's performance is measured by the number of comments, then "dark side" is really the best title and could be deliberate.
3. Re:far side != dark side by HornWumpus · 2018-05-21 08:28 · Score: 1
  
  /. editors have been the top trolls here since...forever. I think there is some bizarre initiation, that alters their brain, like Toxoplasmosis, but much worse.
  
  --
  John McAfee 'It was like that time I hired that Bangkok prostitute; to do my taxes, while I fucked my accountant'
4. Re:far side != dark side by Anonymous Coward · 2018-05-21 11:11 · Score: 0
  
  I vote we call it the "backside of the moon."
  That has the advantage of being redundant as a double entendre.
Dark Side of the Moon?! by zamboni1138 · 2018-05-21 05:44 · Score: 0

Really? In this day and age, you call it the "Dark Side" of the Moon. The side that *never* gets any light from the sun, right? Good thing the Chinese actually know that they are going to the Far Side of the Moon. Too bad the reporter, editor, submitter and msmash don't know anything about the Moon.
1. Re:Dark Side of the Moon?! by Anonymous Coward · 2018-05-21 07:38 · Score: 0
  
  Thanks for showing us your enormous intellect along with the other panties-in-a-twist armchair scientists doing the same.
  Hail Captain Obvious! Defender of common knowledge! Protector of that which is already known!
  Anyone with a basic understanding of the moon phases already understands this. It is *metaphorically* referred to as the "dark side" of the moon in that we don't see it from earth (give or take 17 degrees). Dark as in "not visible".
2. Re: Dark Side of the Moon?! by Anonymous Coward · 2018-05-21 16:32 · Score: 0
  
  Now queuing Gary Larson Far Side jokes ...
3. Re:Dark Side of the Moon?! by Anonymous Coward · 2018-05-22 16:00 · Score: 0
  
  Too bad you only know how to post from a 1972 IBM Selectric typewriter....
Pink Floyd available for $4.97 @Walmart by Anonymous Coward · 2018-05-21 05:51 · Score: 1

Why you waste your money China??
Wow, What an expensive way... by bobbied · 2018-05-21 05:53 · Score: 1

To get a copy of the Album... Those crazy Chinese...
I know it would be supporting a capitalist pig organization to buy a copy, but I'm sure a copy of the CD could be obtained for much less than a launch. Just pay for the MP3's (or revive your peer sharing networks and down load it for free)...

--
"File to fit, pound to insert, paint to match" - Aircraft Maintenance 101
= The Sith Side of the Moon by Anonymous Coward · 2018-05-21 05:54 · Score: 0

Most logical explanation.
the scenery has changed by Anonymous Coward · 2018-05-21 05:56 · Score: 0

now we can see the moon at noon? in the evening. the suns' illumination makes it appear that we can see both a light & somewhat darker 'side' of the eggish orb.. frequently accompanied by one of the 3 daystars.. as we hang on to our hemispheres, good sports with good spirits will prevail.. in the moms we trust... don't forget to look at the sky early & often.. thanks again..
There is no dark side of the Moon really by petes_PoV · 2018-05-21 06:01 · Score: 2

as a matter of fact it's all dark

--
politicians are like babies' nappies: they should both be changed regularly and for the same reasons
I've got a better idea by Anonymous Coward · 2018-05-21 06:04 · Score: 0

Use it to explore the dark side of Detroit.
1. Re:I've got a better idea by glenebob · 2018-05-21 06:16 · Score: 3, Interesting
  
  There is no dark side of Detroit. Matter of fact, it's all dark.
  It's Pink Floyd jokes all the way down.
Dark Side of the Moon. Ah wedding memories. by fahrbot-bot · 2018-05-21 06:09 · Score: 3, Insightful

My wife and I had our wedding and (self-catered) reception in our home in Dec 1989 -- described as a wedding and cocktail party on the invitations we made. We had (and I still have) a Pioneer PD-M40 6-disc CD player programmed to play the last three discs in rotation, which were George Winston. My grandfather unplugged the equipment during the ceremony and plugged it back in afterward. The player automatically plays the first disc (if present) on power up. The first three discs were Pink Floyd, with the first being Dark Side of the Moon.
Don't know if that was an omen, but we were happily together from the summer of 1985 until Jan 2006, when she died.
Remember Sue...

--
It must have been something you assimilated. . . .
1. Re:Dark Side of the Moon. Ah wedding memories. by Anonymous Coward · 2018-05-21 06:41 · Score: 0
  
  ....
  ...... aaaand, this is why I hate the internet.
  Fahrbot-bot, thank you for sharing that. I'm sorry for your loss.
2. Re:Dark Side of the Moon. Ah wedding memories. by Anonymous Coward · 2018-05-21 08:07 · Score: 0
  
  I was thinking as well. Thanks for making the internet more personal by sharing your story.
3. Re:Dark Side of the Moon. Ah wedding memories. by Anonymous Coward · 2018-05-21 09:28 · Score: 0
  
  LOL a home wedding/reception...are you poor?
4. Re:Dark Side of the Moon. Ah wedding memories. by Anonymous Coward · 2018-05-21 11:46 · Score: 0
  
  I am about done with Hackdot. Just a bunch of SJW google searcher wannabe knowitalls. If people wanna say crude comments then they have reddit. What happened to you hackdot!?
5. Re:Dark Side of the Moon. Ah wedding memories. by Anonymous Coward · 2018-05-21 20:50 · Score: 0
  
  I'm sorry for your loss. The "Remember Sue..." website is very nice, including the story of traveling to the past, to visit her. I'm sure her students were very lucky to have her as a teacher. And I'm sure that having you was a huge comfort to her.
6. Re:Dark Side of the Moon. Ah wedding memories. by Anonymous Coward · 2018-05-22 20:33 · Score: 0
  
  What's wrong with that? I went to a wedding/reception at someone's house. Besides saving lots of money, having it at the house gave the couple a lot more flexibility of when to have the wedding. (They didn't have to get married when a church had a free day.)
  Also, my parents were married in my mother's parents' house.
I've always been mad, I know I am mad... by Anonymous Coward · 2018-05-21 06:28 · Score: 0

Man, just wait until they find out it syncs up to the first part of the Wizard of Oz movie...
burbleburbleburbleburble...
Well thatâ(TM)s sure to piss off the reptilia by bonedonut · 2018-05-21 06:33 · Score: 1

They donâ(TM)t like the bald monkeys messing with their space station.
Dark Side of the Rainbow by smprather · 2018-05-21 07:01 · Score: 1

All they will find is a giant projection of The Wizard of Oz playing on a loop. The source of light will be a prism in geosynchronous orbit. How much money will they spend to find the obvious? What a waste.
Schrodinger's Cat by cdsparrow · 2018-05-21 07:11 · Score: 1

Is gonna be pissed off when they get there and it dies from asphyxiation...
Aliens on the dark side of the moon? by Anonymous Coward · 2018-05-21 08:04 · Score: 0

I remember reading (conspiracy theories of course) that there are aliens on the dark side of the moon because it is a perfect location to observe earth. Additionally, when the first moon landings happened the astronaughts were told not to come back (why there hasnâ(TM)t been many moon missiona recently). I wonder if China got the memo or just donâ(TM)t care what the aliens think? Or maybe they have made an agreement?
Re: Big deal. We launched real people and returned by Anonymous Coward · 2018-05-21 08:05 · Score: 0

it wasn't you, it was people from the past. Big Difference. People like you woudnt know venus from jupiter in the evening sky.
Not Transformers by TJHook3r · 2018-05-21 08:13 · Score: 2

Am reassured that there are more references here to Pink Floyd than Transformers. Cheers
South China space probe? by Anonymous Coward · 2018-05-21 09:02 · Score: 0

Did Trump tell them they could have the whole moon just so he could claim "victory" in trade negotiations?
But we won't by Impy+the+Impiuos+Imp · 2018-05-21 09:12 · Score: 1

It would be sad if dictatorship spread to the other planets. We really should have a containment policy.

--
(-1: Post disagrees with my already-settled worldview) is not a valid mod option.
Talk to Selena by iTrawl · 2018-05-21 09:24 · Score: 1

They should just ask Selena Gomez about it. She saw the dark side of the moon already, to get to some person. No need to send a space probe.
She's also been running through the jungle, running/crying with the wolves, and looked for love in every stranger, just in case you're interested in those aspects as well :-P
As for the far side of the moon (because the moon is tidally locked to our planet and only shows us one side ever), I don't think she knows anything, just like whoever wrote the headline.

--
"Everybody's naked underneath" -- The Doctor
1. Re:Talk to Selena by Hognoxious · 2018-05-21 09:45 · Score: 1
  
  As for the far side of the moon (because the moon is tidally locked to our planet and only shows us one side ever)
  You're the kind of person who, whenever dinosaurs are mentioned, says they aren't extinct because you saw two in a tree this morning.
  In other words, a fucking grade-A class-1 shitcock assburger.
  
  --
  Confucius say, "Find worm in apple - bad. Find half a worm - worse."
2. Re:Talk to Selena by Anonymous Coward · 2018-05-21 09:59 · Score: 0
  
  I'm pretty sure I didn't see you and your sister in a tree this morning, though...
  AC, because I have better things to lose karma over that what kind of burger you fantasise of, and I don't understand what you mean either - your symbolism is beyond my ability of comprehension.
3. Re:Talk to Selena by iggymanz · 2018-05-21 12:49 · Score: 1
  
  It's also called the "dark side" with "dark" meaning "unseen from earth" you autistic dipshit.
4. Re:Talk to Selena by iTrawl · 2018-05-21 23:19 · Score: 1
  
  Yes, let's invent meaning. By "autistic dipshit" meaning "you brilliant human", right? You're a brilliant human too :) High five bro.
  
  --
  "Everybody's naked underneath" -- The Doctor
5. Re:Talk to Selena by iggymanz · 2018-05-22 05:33 · Score: 1
  
  that 'dark side' phrase has been around for couple centuries at least, you can find it in Jules Verne's work
6. Re:Talk to Selena by iTrawl · 2018-05-22 09:04 · Score: 1
  
  you can find it in Jules Verne's work
  Citation needed. Google* isn't giving me anything but a crated named Jules Verne which happens to be on the far side.
  As for the usage, all I find is that it started as a mistake and now there are people defending it usage (and the usage has even been extended to mean "outside of communications range"). Hey, it entered tradition, we must preserve the mistake now and forever...
  *I'm sure you'll make fun of me for using Google and Wikipedia instead one of those modern solutions called a "library", so I'm fine if you'll give me a reference that I can only find in a dead tree as well.
  
  --
  "Everybody's naked underneath" -- The Doctor
7. Re:Talk to Selena by Anonymous Coward · 2018-05-22 23:06 · Score: 0
  
  It's the same perspective to call it "far" or "dark". "far" side looking from Earth. "Dark" as in cannot be seen or observed directly. Also like dark matter.
8. Re:Talk to Selena by iggymanz · 2018-05-23 05:22 · Score: 1
  
  "Yes, startling is the word for it," observed Barbican, replying to a remark of Ardan's; "and still more so when we reflect that not only are both lunar hemispheres deprived, by turns, of sun light for nearly 15 days, but that also the particular hemisphere over which we are at this moment floating is all that long night completely deprived of earth-light. In other words, it is only one side of the Moon's disc that ever receives any light from the Earth. From nearly every portion of one side of the Moon, the Earth is always as completely absent as the Sun is from us at midnight. Suppose an analogous case existed on the Earth; suppose, for instance, that neither in Europe, Asia or North America was the Moon ever visibleâ"that, in fact, it was to be seen only at our antipodes. With what astonishment should we contemplate her for the first time on our arrival in Australia or New Zealand!"
  "Every man of us would pack off to Australia to see her!" cried Ardan.
  "Yes," said M'Nicholl sententiously; "for a visit to the South Sea a Turk would willingly forego Mecca; and a Bostonian would prefer Sidney even to Paris."
  "Well," resumed Barbican, "this interesting marvel is reserved for the Selenite that inhabits the side of the Moon which is always turned away from our globe."
  "And which," added the Captain, "we should have had the unspeakable satisfaction of contemplating if we had only arrived at the period when the Sun and the Earth are not at the same side of the Moonâ"that is, 15 days sooner or later than now."
  "For my part, however," continued Barbican, not heeding these interruptions, "I must confess that, notwithstanding the magnificent splendor of the spectacle when viewed for the first time by the Selenite who inhabits the dark side of the Moon
9. Re:Talk to Selena by iTrawl · 2018-05-24 09:41 · Score: 1
  
  The characters actually are on the far side when it's facing away from the Sun, so it's bloody dark at that time. Barbican very clearly uses the words "the side of the Moon which is always turned away from our globe" just before talking about "the dark side of the Moon", followed by his preference for the "illuminated side". At the time of the conversation the far side and the dark side are identical, so this makes sense. If they still call the far side the dark side 15 days later, then that would support your argument.
  So the term "dark side of the Moon" is the same as "the far side of the Moon" for two weeks in every month period :) But I can see how one could take the term "dark side of the Moon" and run away with it for a whole month, every month.
  
  --
  "Everybody's naked underneath" -- The Doctor
10. Re:Talk to Selena by iggymanz · 2018-05-25 11:36 · Score: 1
  
  No, the characters are on the side never seen from earth, and talking about how the hypothetical residents there would react if they saw earth
  You might be interested to know that for centuries "dark" also meant "hidden' or "unknown"
11. Re:Talk to Selena by iTrawl · 2018-05-26 06:18 · Score: 1
  
  The far side is the side never seen from the Earth... And it also happens to be dark at the time of the narrative.
  
  --
  "Everybody's naked underneath" -- The Doctor
12. Re:Talk to Selena by iggymanz · 2018-05-28 05:39 · Score: 1
  
  Yes, and it's also been called "the dark side", dark as in unknown. Language is defined by use.
13. Re:Talk to Selena by iTrawl · 2018-05-29 08:27 · Score: 1
  
  Alice and Bob decide to meet on the dark side of the Moon.
  Alice: "Hey mate, I'm here. Where are you?"
  Bob: "I'm here too. Where are you?"
  Alice: "I have the Earth above my head"
  Bob: "What are you on about? There's no Earth here, and the Sun is burning my retinas!"
  You might be able to tell that I don't agree with the usage you are advocating.
  
  --
  "Everybody's naked underneath" -- The Doctor
14. Re:Talk to Selena by iTrawl · 2018-05-29 10:01 · Score: 1
  
  Alice and Bob decide to meet on the dark side of the Moon.
  Alice: "Hey mate, I'm here. Where are you?"
  Bob: "I'm here too. Where are you?"
  Alice: "I have the Earth above my head"
  Bob: "What are you on about? There's no Earth here, and the Sun is burning my retinas!"
  You might be able to tell that I don't agree with the usage you are advocating.
  (I replied to myself accidentally, and I wouldn't want you to miss it)
  
  --
  "Everybody's naked underneath" -- The Doctor
15. Re:Talk to Selena by iggymanz · 2018-05-31 03:21 · Score: 1
  
  And people that practice the "dark arts" turn the light off?
  That usage have been common for centuries; in other news, the word "jack" has 34 meanings. Jack jacked while jacking his car with the other hand, his jacked earphone jack only playing sound to one ear.
16. Re:Talk to Selena by Anonymous Coward · 2018-05-31 04:13 · Score: 0
  
  I don't know why people get their panties in a bunch about it. It's a figurative expression. There's nothing wrong with that, it's just how people use language.
  Everyone's so literal and pedantic these days.
17. Re:Talk to Selena by iggymanz · 2018-05-31 10:03 · Score: 1
  
  ...and too lazy to consult a dictionary for standard meanings of a word. 'Dark' has EIGHT meanings, including "closed to the public", "showing evil traits", "not known or explored", "possessing depth and richness", etc.
18. Re:Talk to Selena by iTrawl · 2018-06-01 00:06 · Score: 1
  
  And people that practice the "dark arts" turn the light off?
  Let's imagine Bob and Alice's dialogue using 'dark arts'.
  Bob: Hey, let's practice the dark arts tonight. My place.
  Now Bob could mean "let's summon Satan and debate the dark side of the Moon", or some innuendo that Alice knows about beforehand. Chance of confusion and crashing a lunar lander in the wrong place: minimal.
  If usage causes confusion, it needs to go. I'm advocating that "dark side of the moon" shouldn't mean "the side unseen from the Earth" unless it happens to be unlit at the time as well. The Jules Verne passage you pasted fits very well with this restriction.
  
  --
  "Everybody's naked underneath" -- The Doctor
Dark Side of the Moon by Anonymous Coward · 2018-05-21 16:29 · Score: 0

Why would China revisit Pink Floyd when the album's 10-year run on Billboard's Top 100 has already been adequately explored? Are they on drugs or something?
Mysterious as by shentino · 2018-05-21 18:28 · Score: 1

The dark side of the moooooon!
Question by shentino · 2018-05-21 18:29 · Score: 1

Are they calling the satellite Mulan?
to be fair... by Anonymous Coward · 2018-05-21 19:09 · Score: 0

it's a lot easier to land on a vinyl LP and to land on that large ball of rock and grit that is orbiting the Earth.
It would be a really interesting thing if China was planning to land on the FAR SIDE of the moon. If they attempt to do that, I suspect that they will do it when the selected landing zone is in daylight.
Dark side... by The123king · 2018-05-21 21:45 · Score: 2

And you run and you run to catch up with the sun but it's sinking
Racing around to come up behind you again
The sun is the same in a relative way but you're older
Shorter of breath and one day closer to death

--
If you gave me a choice between a printer and a giraffe with explosive diarrhoea, i'll get my ladder and my raincoat
fuck sue by Anonymous Coward · 2018-05-22 16:09 · Score: 0

If she's anything like Fahrbot, fuck her and fuck him too. We don't care that he can't get over his dead wife, and jesus fucking christ, he uses any excuse to post that stupid link. As per the usual conservative mantra, he's also a goddamned hypocrite. He'll flip his shit and piss and moan when people bring politics into one of the discussions whining about how that's not what we're talking about. Well, guess what? We ain't talking about fucking Sue. But here he is injecting his two goddamned cents. Well fuck all y'all!
Oh and I've been on here since the beginning. It has NEVER been called Hackdot. You have no fucking idea what this place was and is like. And WE are SJWs? YOU are the one being offended by mere words. YOU are the melting snowflake. Oh my lawdy alive! You said something mean about his dead wife. Ohhhhh lawwwwwwwwd.
Get. TheFuck. Over. It.