scorecard'This is more than just a landing': Why China's mission at the far side of the moon should be a wake-up call for the world
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'This is more than just a landing': Why China's mission at the far side of the moon should be a wake-up call for the world

Early in the morning on December 8, 2018, a Chinese rocket launched with Chang'e 4: the first mission ever to touch the far side of the moon.

'This is more than just a landing': Why China's mission at the far side of the moon should be a wake-up call for the world

Lunar satellites and NASA astronauts had photographed the far side, but until January 3, 2019, no spacecraft had ever landed there.

Lunar satellites and NASA astronauts had photographed the far side, but until January 3, 2019, no spacecraft had ever landed there.

"Chang'e" is the name of a mythical lunar goddess, and '4" signifies the mission is one of several over the past decade. The previous robotic moon landing, called Chang'e 3, put a rover called Yutu or "Jade Rabbit" on the lunar surface in December 2013.

"Chang

Chang'e 4 and its rover were initially backup hardware for Chang'e 3, so China decided to use them for a riskier mission to the far side.

Chang

But first China had to solve a problem: The moon blocks radio communications. When Apollo 8 astronauts flew around the moon for the first time in 1968, for example, they briefly (and expectedly) lost contact with Earth.

But first China had to solve a problem: The moon blocks radio communications. When Apollo 8 astronauts flew around the moon for the first time in 1968, for example, they briefly (and expectedly) lost contact with Earth.

Sources: Business Insider (1, 2)

China solved the problem by launching a satellite called Queqiao or "magpie bridge" (another reference to Chinese lunar mythology) in May 2018. It "sees" the moon's far side and can relay signals to and from Earth.

China solved the problem by launching a satellite called Queqiao or "magpie bridge" (another reference to Chinese lunar mythology) in May 2018. It "sees" the moon

After weeks of traveling through space, Chang'e 4 safely landed on the lunar far side and rolled out its Yutu 2 rover.

After weeks of traveling through space, Chang

China was not forthcoming with details about the mission's status, but lunar scientists at NASA helped pinpoint the Chang'e landing site. One researcher used images China distributed through state media to locate it.

China was not forthcoming with details about the mission

The coordinates placed the landing zone inside a 111-mile-wide crater called Von Kármán crater.

The coordinates placed the landing zone inside a 111-mile-wide crater called Von Kármán crater.

The crater is part of the South Pole-Aitken Basin: a 1,550-mile-wide scar made by a collision about 3.9 billion years ago. It may have pushed deeper-down geologic layers of the moon onto its surface.

The crater is part of the South Pole-Aitken Basin: a 1,550-mile-wide scar made by a collision about 3.9 billion years ago. It may have pushed deeper-down geologic layers of the moon onto its surface.

The Yutu 2 rover, which is designed to last three months, is recording images while it rolls across the far side. It also has a ground-penetrating radar, a rock-analyzing spectroscope, and a device to study lunar water ice.

The Yutu 2 rover, which is designed to last three months, is recording images while it rolls across the far side. It also has a ground-penetrating radar, a rock-analyzing spectroscope, and a device to study lunar water ice.

Meanwhile, the car-size lander is recording its surroundings with cameras and will conduct a suite of other experiments.

Meanwhile, the car-size lander is recording its surroundings with cameras and will conduct a suite of other experiments.

When the 14-day-long lunar night arrives, the lander will scan the skies above for radio waves. It may have the clearest-ever radio-based view of deep space because the moon will block noisy emissions from both Earth and the sun.

When the 14-day-long lunar night arrives, the lander will scan the skies above for radio waves. It may have the clearest-ever radio-based view of deep space because the moon will block noisy emissions from both Earth and the sun.

The data from the far side could help chip away at mysteries surrounding the moon's violent formation.

The data from the far side could help chip away at mysteries surrounding the moon

The lander also holds a seven-inch-long aluminum container packed with potato seeds, mustard seeds, and silkworm eggs — a self-contained ecosystem experiment.

The lander also holds a seven-inch-long aluminum container packed with potato seeds, mustard seeds, and silkworm eggs — a self-contained ecosystem experiment.

Altogether, Chang'e 4 is a stunning achievement, especially since NASA has not soft-landed any mission on the moon's surface since December 1972. The last mission was Apollo 17.

Altogether, Chang

Source: Business Insider (1, 2)

NASA is working with commercial companies to get experiments to the lunar surface, perhaps this year. It's also developing a gigantic rocket called Space Launch System to send people to the moon in the late 2020s — though the project is already behind-schedule and over-budget.

NASA is working with commercial companies to get experiments to the lunar surface, perhaps this year. It

Sources: Business Insider (1, 2); NASA

But China is not sitting idly by. Chang'e 4 is one stage in a quest to not only bring back a sample of the moon, perhaps in 2019, but also send people there.

But China is not sitting idly by. Chang

China has been catching up to the US, Europe, and Russia with its own space program. So far it has sent 11 Chinese astronauts, or taikonauts, into orbit around Earth.

China has been catching up to the US, Europe, and Russia with its own space program. So far it has sent 11 Chinese astronauts, or taikonauts, into orbit around Earth.

China is working on a spaceship, called the New Generation Manned Spacecraft, that could fly four to six people into orbit at once. It's also developing a new space station.

China is working on a spaceship, called the New Generation Manned Spacecraft, that could fly four to six people into orbit at once. It

The country's ultimate goal with its Chang'e moon program is to land people there and establish a permanent base. "Odds of the next voice transmission from the moon being in Mandarin are high," Joan Johnson-Freese, who studies the Chinese space program at the US Naval War College, told CNN.

The country

China is hoping to land a crew in the early 2030s, if not sooner, and the stakes are incredibly high. In addition to slam-dunking US achievements in spaceflight, there may be hundreds of billions of tons of water ice at the moon's poles.

China is hoping to land a crew in the early 2030s, if not sooner, and the stakes are incredibly high. In addition to slam-dunking US achievements in spaceflight, there may be hundreds of billions of tons of water ice at the moon

That water ice could be harvested by China with the help of taikonauts and mining robots, then split into hydrogen and oxygen — fuel and oxidizer for rockets.

That water ice could be harvested by China with the help of taikonauts and mining robots, then split into hydrogen and oxygen — fuel and oxidizer for rockets.

China is already exploring how to sustain itself on the moon with its Lunar Palace program on Earth. Some experiments have already locked Chinese students inside for hundreds of days to see if they could survive in a self-contained environment.

China is already exploring how to sustain itself on the moon with its Lunar Palace program on Earth. Some experiments have already locked Chinese students inside for hundreds of days to see if they could survive in a self-contained environment.

NASA does not have any comparable life-support experiment, and has no plans to begin one. Meanwhile, China is outpacing the US in education of its people in the fields of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM).

NASA does not have any comparable life-support experiment, and has no plans to begin one. Meanwhile, China is outpacing the US in education of its people in the fields of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM).

Sources: Business Insider (1, 2)

For decades, China has awarded more college degrees in STEM than the US, and in recent years more than four times as many. Having an army of skilled researchers has made the Chang'e moon program possible.

For decades, China has awarded more college degrees in STEM than the US, and in recent years more than four times as many. Having an army of skilled researchers has made the Chang

Part of the reason the US has lagged behind is because college degrees have become more expensive. Americans also don't believe enough federal funding is being spent on education generally.

Part of the reason the US has lagged behind is because college degrees have become more expensive. Americans also don

As a result, the disparities between the US and China — and the latter nation's advantage — are increasing not just in space exploration, but elsewhere as well.

As a result, the disparities between the US and China — and the latter nation

China has become a powerhouse of research and technological advancement.

China has become a powerhouse of research and technological advancement.

While US investment and progress in energy falters, China is using its rapidly maturing and expanding brain trust to develop next-generation fusion and nuclear reactor technologies.

While US investment and progress in energy falters, China is using its rapidly maturing and expanding brain trust to develop next-generation fusion and nuclear reactor technologies.

Sources: Business Insider (1, 2)

China has even launched a quantum satellite into space that physicists say is "profound" and could help lead to a super-secure, super-fast quantum internet system for the nation.

China has even launched a quantum satellite into space that physicists say is "profound" and could help lead to a super-secure, super-fast quantum internet system for the nation.

China has even roped high schoolers into developing artificial intelligence technologies for its military.

China has even roped high schoolers into developing artificial intelligence technologies for its military.

January's far-side moon landing might seem esoteric, but it's just one recent example of China's success in boosting its scientific, technological, educational, and economic standing in the world — one that might, as Scott Kelly warned, soon leave the US behind.

January

Source: Reuters

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