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China Successfully Lands Spacecraft On Far Side of the Moon (cnbc.com)
State news agency Xinhua reports that China has successfully landed its Chang'e 4 spacecraft on the far side of the moon on Thursday morning, Beijing time, becoming the first country in history to touch the lunar surface unseen by those on Earth. CNBC reports: The Chang'e 4 mission launched in early December. It took the spacecraft three days to travel to the moon, where it spent the last few weeks in orbit preparing for touch down on the Von Karman crater. The crater is a relatively flat spot on the moon's far side. "China's Chang'e-4 probe softlands on Moon's far side," the state news agency tweeted on Thursday. Citing the China National Space Administration, Xinhua said the space probe, made up of a lander and a rover, "landed at the preselected landing area on the far side of the moon at 10:26 a.m. Beijing Time."
Landing on the far side is a technical challenge, as there is no direct way to communicate with the spacecraft as it nears its target. China put a relay satellite in orbit around the moon in May to overcome that communication challenge. The far side of the moon has been seen and mapped before, even by astronauts of the Apollo missions. But the successful landing of Chang'e 4 represents the first time any spacecraft has touched down on the moon's far side.
Landing on the far side is a technical challenge, as there is no direct way to communicate with the spacecraft as it nears its target. China put a relay satellite in orbit around the moon in May to overcome that communication challenge. The far side of the moon has been seen and mapped before, even by astronauts of the Apollo missions. But the successful landing of Chang'e 4 represents the first time any spacecraft has touched down on the moon's far side.
what did you find...? Missing somthing...?
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Be gracious, lad. This is an achievement worthy of a admiration.
Sorry...
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Not saying the Chinese look anything like greys...
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Second, China is comparing it to land it questionably annexed.
Where did you find that language? Skimming the linked articles didn't help.
Second, China is comparing it to land it questionably annexed. Is this an indication they're withdrawing from the treaty for outer space and have the means to defend any territory?
To what are they comparing it and where?
Radio telescope without all of the interference from earth. Freedom from satellite surveillance... plenty of reasons
good one....
where it spent the last few weeks in orbit preparing for touch down on the Von Karman crater.
No relation, I'm assuming.
Does the photo look to you like they are selling mass produced rovers now?
Is it just me, or is that just somehow ironic?
The 18th Apollo mission was planned to land on the dark side of the moon.
But according to Senator William Proxmire, supporting Wisconsin cheese farmers was more important, so it got cancelled. Love how that cheese has become one of America's proudest accomplishments.
AC
Alibaba... Good or Bad... haven't decided.
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But,.. did they really land on the far side of the moon or are they still shooting the landing sequence in a hanger in Beijing?
Do you want a Moon Nazi invasion because this is how you get a Moon Nazi invasion! #IronSky
Anons need not reply. Questions end with a question mark.
It shows that stealing technology really DOES work.
E Proelio Veritas.
Matter of fact, it's all dark.
If by affirmative action, you mean putting science-denying, religiously-bigoted, morally-bankrupted low-brows on the congressional science funding committees, then yes, affirmative action is more than likely responsible for the USA sliding into decline.
Debate is a form of harassment. Do not question my truth.
Alibaba? Imagine where NASA would be today if it wasn't for TRUMP. My prediction is Mars Bases. An actual *colony* on Mars.
-BeauHD
China continues to surpass the US in all capabilities, from space exploration to manufacturing to financial management. The US would do well to learn from China's successes, and in particular the success of China's brand of communism.
China's brand of communism is exactly what makes any success they may have "not worth it". Doesn't matter how many planetary bodies they land on, or how cheaply they can make an iPhone; it's not worth the oppressive lifestyle of living under the paw of an evil Winnie the Pooh.
"That's the way to do it" - Punch
"Freedom from satellite surveillance", huh? I give up, what possibly could they want free of satellite surveillance that requires the far side of the moon? A Chinese effort in New and Improved Moon Rocks, the last fad to hit the U.S. market. The alleged administration is already preparing to raise tariffs on any moon rocks from China. The illegitimate government of China is going to point to the landing on the far side of the moon as proof they can land on the far side of Taiwan and steal it like they did to Tibet.
Jinping: Flunky, we will invade and occupy uninhabited space rocks for the glory of me....errrr...the Chinese Communist Party.
Flunky: Sure thing, Boss-Guy, shall I ready our invasion fleet?
Ping: No, we'll need them for Taiwan, I hear there are free Chinese there and we cannot be having any of that. there's my ego to consider.
Flunky: Boss-Guy? Beijing University suspects there may be free Chinese on space rocks.
Ping: Holy Cow! Taiwan is replicating, I knew it. Get our military on Super Secret High Alert, we must prepare to be boarded.
Flunky: Oh....Beijing University says they are not building any Western do-dads.
Ping: Okay Flunky, cancel the Taiwan thing for now, but threaten them a bit, I feel a bit irritated this morning.
I think it is terrible the way you are describing congressional science funding committees. They are the most rootin-tootin gun-fearing defenders of America east, north, west, and south of the Pecos. They are the Yosemite Sams of the Modern Age.
Xi Jinping is NOT an evil Winnie the Pooh....an evil Mary Poppins, sure, but not Winnie the Pooh. "A little bit of sugar helps the re-education go down, re-education go down...." Now salute your leader and say three State Sanctioned Hail Marys.
Jokes aside, that's pretty cool and I hope we all start doing a lot more space stuff soon.
Americans take on big challenges, because they are big challenges. For example, Americans were the first to fly around the world, the first to fly around the world non-stop, the first to fly around the world in a balloon, etc. Why? What's the urgent practical need to do these things?
There is no practical need. As Kennedy said, we do these things because they are hard. China doesn't. That's not part of Chinese culture. China is known for making a million copies of something that the US designed a decade before. Americans traditionally look at something that "can't be done" and try to figure out how to do it. Chinese study the company procedure to see exactly how a task is done, in detail.
The most important thing here is not that Chia succeeded in this attempt, but that they attempted it. There is no immediate need to do this, they did it simply because it is hard. That demonstrates a new attitude in China. It shows the "American spirit", the spirit of bold adventure, in China.
Americans drive to "to boldly go where no one has gone before" has been significant factor in their success over the last hundred years, a differentiator from from most nation's. (Though partly inherited from Europe, then grown and expanded in the US). To see that in China means things are changing. China is getting something that used to be one of the great advantages of the United States.
Is this an indication they're withdrawing from the treaty for outer space and have the means to defend any territory?
Well, they do have the most advanced battlebot on the Moon...
the US spent all its money on the military and useless weapons systems that will never be used among other stupid ways to spend money. If you are looking for the single biggest reason the US is not on the moon look no further than that.
That explains by Chinese scientists beat the American scientists in placing a spacecraft on the far side of the moon.
Is any one else even trying to do that? NASA are all about Mars these days and the ESA and JAXA seem to be more interested in asteroids and other stuff further out.
Wanna buy a shirt?
https://www.redbubble.com/people/stealthfinger/shop?asc=u
Here we go again.
One meaning of "dark", when referencing places, is "not known or explored because of remoteness".
See definition #4:
https://www.merriam-webster.co...
Here we go again.
One meaning of "dark", when referencing places, is "not known or explored because of remoteness".
See definition #4: https://www.merriam-webster.co...
Using that definition of "dark", "dark side" and "far side" are the same thing, so the original post is still wrong.
The first lunar probe, Luna 9 landed way back in 1966. And even today a trick like that seems like a huge achievement.
Lots of false sightings on the release date. Perhaps they can find it.
Some drink at the fountain of knowledge. Others just gargle.
Now, lets see if they release data for there?
I prefer the "u" in honour as it seems to be missing these days.
Caffeinated Bacon/Crimson Tsunami:
First off, China has not surpassed America once in space exploration. Landing on the moon? 50 years ago. Landing out of sight? Try mars.
Manufacturing technology that CHina employs came from the west. They continue to STILL steal it.
But there are 2 main reasons why Chinese are moving heavily to the west:
1) to escape your communism. Now, your gov is getting upset with this and trying to stop the wealthy and middle class from leaving, but laws and bullets.
2) to steal technology. we just have to be more aware of what you are up to.
I prefer the "u" in honour as it seems to be missing these days.
Beat America to the far side? Not a big deal. If you landed ANYWHERE on the moon, you can land EVERYWHERE. Trying landing on pluto, or saturn, or one of Jupiter moons. Hell, CHina has not even made to another planet.
I prefer the "u" in honour as it seems to be missing these days.
That's a... somewhat distorted version of events. The Apollo lunar landing program started as a space race. Kennedy later considered seeking a partnership as a move to contain the ever spiraling cost estimates. He also considered scaling back the program or simply cancelling it outright. Dallas intervened before he could make a decision.
At the top of your link there is an interesting chart.
It shows China being at the bottom for at least the last 500 years (as far back as the chart goes).
Of course China DID inent one thing a thousand years ago, fireworks. Well, maybe they invented it, maybe they got it from someone else, but they had it a thousand years ago. If GGP's point is that the Chinese invented one thing in a thousand years, I'll grant that's true.
There are good things about people who see themselves as part of a much greater whole, people who do their part in the system. There are disadvantages to everyone being a "cowboy", doing their own thing.
I'm not looking down on either approach. Simply pointing out that they are two different cultural viewpoints.
> Now, US is a merely a shadow of what it was doing in the 60s-80s.
Agreed.
> I don't think it's right to say that the US was always looking for big challenges. I think that's period is a relatively short period in US history.
Most people in the US either came here themselves from a another country, often not speaking the language, or their family did within the last 100 years. So on that alone you have culture of adventure, of not being timid. Many of those people arrived with nothing and now own successful businesses - again not by being timid.
The 1800s were the time when Americans ventured into the wild frontier to make whatever life they could make for themselves, from nothing but forest. So this spirit didn't start in 1940.
Someone please mod this up :)
Debate is a form of harassment. Do not question my truth.