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Some Scientists Work With China, But NASA Won't (wired.com)
An anonymous reader shares a report: Inside a sealed clean room near Toulouse, France, Maurice Sylvestre points out something called SuperCam. Sylvestre is outfitted in Tyvex and hairnets, necessary to keep out dust, skin particles, and dirt that could mar the super-smooth surface of his device. SuperCam sits underneath a ventilator hood, glimmering inside a golden-metallic housing. The device is designed to scan the Martian surface with a camera, laser, and spectrometer in hopes of finding organic compounds that could be related to early life on Mars. In two years, this 12-pound, microwave oven-sized unit will blast off as part of the Mars 2020 mission, a spacecraft/lander/rover combo by NASA and its partners that will replace the long-serving Curiosity mission.
Sylvestre is a planetary scientist at France's Institute for Research and Planetary Astronomy, and deputy principal investigator for SuperCam. But he's an international collaborator: Over the years, he's worked on missions to Saturn, the moon, and Mars with NASA colleagues. Sylvestre's lab is currently building an instrument similar to SuperCam that will fly to Mercury on the European-Japanese BepiColombo mission, as well as one called Eclair that is part of a joint French-Chinese satellite. Notably, that makes him one of a small number of planetary scientists who are working with China to boost their science, while doing his best to keep Western technology from getting pilfered. It's a tightrope that not everyone is willing to walk. "We are careful what we are doing," Sylvestre says.
"We understand the security issues. We understand that we should be careful and not be too naive. But at the same time I feel the idea of planetary exploration is for everyone." Working with both NASA and China may seem like a contradiction, or even a conflict. The two superpowers are butting heads on trade, military, and cybersecurity issues. Congress has banned NASA officials and NASA money from going to China. That might be because of a recent history of Chinese espionage targeting US military, aerospace, and technological secrets.
Sylvestre is a planetary scientist at France's Institute for Research and Planetary Astronomy, and deputy principal investigator for SuperCam. But he's an international collaborator: Over the years, he's worked on missions to Saturn, the moon, and Mars with NASA colleagues. Sylvestre's lab is currently building an instrument similar to SuperCam that will fly to Mercury on the European-Japanese BepiColombo mission, as well as one called Eclair that is part of a joint French-Chinese satellite. Notably, that makes him one of a small number of planetary scientists who are working with China to boost their science, while doing his best to keep Western technology from getting pilfered. It's a tightrope that not everyone is willing to walk. "We are careful what we are doing," Sylvestre says.
"We understand the security issues. We understand that we should be careful and not be too naive. But at the same time I feel the idea of planetary exploration is for everyone." Working with both NASA and China may seem like a contradiction, or even a conflict. The two superpowers are butting heads on trade, military, and cybersecurity issues. Congress has banned NASA officials and NASA money from going to China. That might be because of a recent history of Chinese espionage targeting US military, aerospace, and technological secrets.
It isn't because they "Won't" its because they 'Can't"
Its due to ITAR restrictions. Take it up with the US Goverment.
Wrong thread. How can you not even read the summary of the page you're on before posting?
Space program technology is not distinct from missile technology. Any sensible government would be sensitive about rival nations getting their missile technology.
So you are okay with all of your personal information, identification numbers(SSN etc), bank accounts and so on being "free." Oh wait, that's right some information does NOT want to be free. There are reasons for some information to be kept secret despite whatever vapid quotes you want to parrot.
Because after all, there's no dust or dirt on Mars.
#DeleteFacebook
hes the ultimate slashdot troll, really perfected the art
nothing gets replies like acting retarded
For those who need a primer, here's information on the "Wolf Amendment" that bans NASA from working with the Chinese. The concerns are understandable given that many of the Chinese firms that work on their space programs have direct links to the PLA. Then again, most of the Western space firms, from traditional players to new space, also have ties with the DoD.
Initial until they stop hacking us computer systems, censoring their Internet, arousing their people, denting them democracy and erasing their history of å©å®é--, they deserve this. They deserve to die for all I care. And they should stay the fuck out if hk and Taiwan affairs as well. Fucking commies.
Unless Congress changes the law, NASA is banned from working with China in any way.
It wants to be free - doesn't mean it should be free!
I said it WANTS to be free, not that it SHOULD be free.
Acting?
Exactly. I'm not acting. Just because you don't agree that information wants to be free doesn't mean I am wrong.
For good reason. China will steal all the information and use it to improve Cup (wrote CCP and autocorrected to cup lol) power at the expense of its citizens freedoms. And then you have 1.4 billion brainwashed Chinese spreading their lies all over the would, including in western countries like Australia and America. It will be slow, but they will slowly erode even more of the freedoms we have here that Chinese don't even know if because of governmenrt controlled media and censorship.
You really are a useless cunt, aren't you.
the fact that China has stolen so much from the US has something to do with our policy.
https://www.google.com/amp/www... NASA is a horrible entity for security given it's past failures. They also repurpose a lot of defense tech for their programs. Isolating them is a minimum precaution. Long term, a cultural change needs to occur to align the staff with American interests.
It is also a good way to increase the military budget, without increasing the military budget. Of course, many of the sciences could be used by the military, but big honkin rockets that are based around military facilities are an obvious fit.
Count them, and then start talking about your stupid "they took our technology." if you think you can.
You refuse to accept just how much asian and european highly educated and skilled workers contribute to "American innovation".
And it's export controlled technology, so nobody from the U.S. can work with China. And for good reason, considering this camera most certainly won't be pointed towards Mars.
The amount of foreign contributions to NASA missions (compensating for budget cuts) has been going crazy the past few years. Banning China entirely blocks at least one avenue of this erosion.
Also bunny suited up for planetary protection. If you're going to Mars to look for signs of life, you don't want to carry life with you.
https://www.google.com/amp/www... NASA is a horrible entity for security given it's past failures.
Uh, the link you post cites the case of Bo Jiang, who worked for NIA (a contractor that worked for NASA), and who was arrested at Dulles airport on his way to China with a laptop full of information. The papers at the time all said he was accused of "espionage".
Turns out the espionage case against him was withdrawn (link) because he wasn't, as it turned out, carrying any NASA technical information on the computer.
What he was exporting to China on his hard disk was: porn. (Ars Technica article). Turns out, yeah, porn is more valuable in China than mere technical secrets, and is harder to get.
Should America give them all of our weapons tech?
You have to either be naive or stupid to not understand the long term strip mining game China is playing.
The poor guy is clearly naive and in giving him the benefit of the doubt. Scientists are good souls, but sometimes the, "For the sake of knowledge" types get used and abused in this cold world.
There are countless examples of these so called partnerships being extractionary. Chicoms put on delightful little smiles, you make some money in the meantime, and a few quarters down the line your profits plunge and there are a million Chinese domestic knock offs.
For better or for worse, NASA's mission is still partly defense. Even the engineers and scientists at SpaceX know this. Sorry Trekkies, but the main goal of these is to boldly kill where no one has killed before.
The Chinese know this and want access to to the new tech that makes it possible.
Good luck to him, but I hope there's someone out there who is reigning in his information sharing.
Sorry for the nitpick, but I've been working in cleanrooms for more than a decade, and this sort of shit is glaring to my eyes.
"The agriculture ministry is not in charge of Gundam" - Japanese ministry official.
On hypersonics, you typed "China is closer to one than the USA".
um (with a bemused smile at the ignorance)
The United States was flying a manned hypersonic vehicle FOR 30 YEARS. The Space Shuttle flew at all speeds from Mach25 to 0MPH, and at all altitudes, from 0ft to 200miles+. The vehicle was heavily instrumented. Are you really so silly that you think the US does not have a better grasp of hypersonic flight than all the other nations on Earth combined?
Sure, some defense contractors have contracts right now for R&D on hypersonic missiles, but that's not for anything like what you think it is. It's like the period when Russia had a functional ICBM (the R7) and the US had none: The US had the tech then to easily deploy a monster ICBM like the R7 but chose not to because we were developing smaller better - reliable small nukes with very accurate reentry vehicles that would need a far smaller and more responsive launcher. The US could easily deploy a hypersonic missile right now (there were American designs for them decades ago) but they were not previously needed and the current R&D is on making smaller more-capable ones that will be best-in-the-world when we decide to deploy.
You have simply no clue about the systems currently under development in the US nor the various designs previously developed and tested but never publicly announced or deployed.
Fuck your spies and fuck you for being a chink balllicker. We can see you as clearly as we all saw the Tiananmen Square protests and brutal Chinese government repression. Fuck China and fuck you for being their faggit cocksucker.
got mad? Americans like you make me laugh.