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China Moon Space

China Developing Manned Space Mission To the Moon 149

Posted by msmash from the how-about-that dept.
China is building a manned spacecraft capable of sending astronauts to the moon as well as near-Earth orbit flight, according to Chinese state media. From a report on CNBC: The official newspaper of the Ministry of Science and Technology of China cited system chief architect Zhang Bainan who claimed the craft is being designed to carry as many as six astronauts. The newspaper, Science and Technology Daily, quoted Zhang Bainan as saying China wished to catch up with international standards of space exploration. The fresh announcement follows a separate Chinese ambition to bring back samples from the moon before the end of this year.
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China Developing Manned Space Mission To the Moon More

China Developing Manned Space Mission To the Moon

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  • Good for them (Score:2, Insightful)

    by Anonymous Coward

    Good for them. At least someone is interested in getting out into space.

    • Yep. I really hope they do it. Just to show up the USA for what it's become since the 1960s.

      • Re: (Score:1)

        by Anonymous Coward

        By the end of 2018 we are scheduled to have

        SpaceX Falcon Heavy around the moon
        SLS around the moon.
        And maybe New Glenn nearing its flight around the moon.

        That is what USA has become since the 1960s... why didn't you know that?

        • Re:Good for them (Score:5, Informative)

          by Maritz ( 1829006 ) on Thursday March 09, 2017 @01:13PM (#54007857)
          This is 2017. Ever since the shuttle retired you've been hitching a ride to the ISS with the Russians. That's what you've become since the 1960s. In addition to flaunting ignorance as the highest of all possible traits, of course.

          • Re: (Score:2, Insightful)

            by Anonymous Coward

            Meh, not all Americans wear a MAGA hat. If China gets space travel going to the Moon, so much the better. It might be cheaper to use their state-of-the-art rockets to get real payloads into orbit.

            Of course, it would be nice if the US was hitting the moon again, rather than wasting cash on walls, private prisons, and no-bid contracts. However, until corporations are taxed the way they are in every other developed nation, that revenue just flies out of the US and to other countries.

            • Re: (Score:3, Informative)

              by GLMDesigns ( 2044134 )
              MAGA hat != anti-science.

              Time to start thinking for yourself.

              You do realize that the religious right (social conservatives) were not supportive of Trump. Trump was losing Utah up until the last 2 wks (not to Hillary but to Evan McMullin).

              Wanting legal (as opposed to anything-goes) immigration is not equal to anti-science and anti-technology.
              Being for free markets and capitalism as opposed to a government directed economy is not equal to anti-science and anti-technology.
              Being for individualism as

              • Re: (Score:3, Insightful)

                by Anonymous Coward

                Well, given what we've seen out of the Trump administration we can indeed conclude: MAGA hat == Anti-science

                The people he's recruited for appointments clearly stated they reject scientific consensus and evidence based conclusions about many very serious scientific topics.. Why just today we have the head of the EPA saying that Co2 is not a primary contributor to global warming.

                I find it even more interesting that the support you offer in evidence of your argument is a bunch of unrelated politically charged

                • Global warming. I mean Climate Change isn't the only topic that relates to science. I, for one, am far more concerned with dioxins and other pollutants than I am about released CO2. Especially since carbon as an energy source is going to be greatly reduced over the next 20-40 years.

              • Re: (Score:1, Insightful)

                by Anonymous Coward

                Oh look, some fuckwit with the SJW boogeyman again

              • Mormons are a very different group from the rest of the religious right. They don't like Trump because they're a historically persecuted religious minority. The rest of the religious right voted for him because they're the dominant religious group.

                • Take a look at the primaries and you'll see that wasn't so. They voted for him over Hillary but not over other Republicans. And the religious right is less than 20% of the Republican Party. It doesn't represent the party as a whole.
              • Actually, MAGA hate is very anti-science. Just like the far left is.
                The far right continues to deny AGW, amongst other things.
                The idea that you can restart coal would indicate that not only do you not believe in AGW (science), but do not understand how capitalism works. Coal has been diminishing in America DUE TO CAPITALISM. And this will continue so that by 2020, less than 15% of our electricity will come from coal. Maybe less.

                Time for your far righties to start thinking since you have obviously shu
                • You miss the point about coal. It's not coal per se. It's about blue collar jobs. It's about the contempt that city folk have for country folk; that all they need is to be retrained; that if they, too, become hipster sophisticates then all would be good.

                  This foolishness opposing the pipelines is a clear example of this bs.

            • Of course, it would be nice if the US was hitting the moon again, rather than wasting cash on walls, private prisons, and no-bid contracts

              Spending money on those things is Making America Great Again. Spending money on the Moon is not. If you disagree, you're unAmerican.

          • Re: (Score:2)

            by gatkinso ( 15975 )

            The manned spaceflight gap is an artifact of funding, nothing more.

            So... why not highlight what YOUR country has done in space.

          • Re:Good for them (Score:5, Insightful)

            by thrich81 ( 1357561 ) on Thursday March 09, 2017 @01:50PM (#54008147)

            Well, right now in 2017, the USA's space program has two (2) functioning rovers on Mars, a spacecraft operating in orbit around Jupiter, a spacecraft operating in orbit around Saturn, a spacecraft operating in orbit around Ceres, a spacecraft on the way to its second encounter with a Kuiper belt object (after its flyby of Pluto), etc. If you want to review what the USA has done since the 1960's -- Since the 60's the USA has had successful missions to every planet in the Solar System, and orbiters around all of them from Mercury out to Saturn, plus five USA spacecraft are currently on their way out of the solar system. No other spacefaring nation will be able to say that anytime soon.

            • Re:Good for them (Score:5, Insightful)

              by thrich81 ( 1357561 ) on Thursday March 09, 2017 @03:35PM (#54008907)

              Replying to my own post because I should have added this -- with all that said about the USA space program, I fully applaud these Chinese efforts and those of all other nations (and private organizations). There is plenty of space out there for everyone. On the plaque which the Apollo 11 mission left on the moon in 1969, it says, "We came in peace for all mankind." Totally true or not, it's the right sentiment.

              • On the plaque which the Apollo 11 mission left on the moon in 1969, it says, "We came in peace for all mankind."

                Every time I think about that plaque and the words on it, I get a tear in my eye. This is a perfect example of why Americans believe in America the country (not the government of America).

                Life consciously chose to exit the gravity well in which it had evolved in and touched the Universe itself outside of life's birth place. This is easily the most amazing thing that has ever happened up to this point in history... and it was not "my country did it", it was, "we (as in all humans) did it".

          • You are overrated.
            30 years ago, America owned the commercial launches, which allowed us to launch massive numbers. Then the shuttle, combined with ULA, conspired to allow Russia and Europe to take over the Commercial launches. Now, SpaceX owns 2/3 of the commercial launch, and once BO hits that market, it will lead to competition that is designed to lower our costs even further.
            At the same time, we are quickly moving towards private space. Now, you may not like it, but with the bulk of the commercial laun

  • ...China has made impressive advancements in technology (I'll let you argue how that happened).

    On the other, they have persistently shown that state propaganda goals are a higher priority than safety. [wikipedia.org]

    • On the other, they have persistently shown that state propaganda goals are a higher priority than safety.

      That would be no different than the current US president.

      • Re: (Score:2)

        by Maritz ( 1829006 )
        Seems more like Turmp is interested in 'safety' to the detriment of literally everything else. Hell, he has to make up imaginary terrorist attacks, he's that keen on 'safety'.

        • Seems more like Turmp is interested in 'safety' to the detriment of literally everything else.

          Trump has no interest in actual safety. He has a strong interest in "security" theater. Big difference between the two. One keeps us safe and the other keeps him elected. He cares about the later. Putting a wall on the US/Mexico border will do almost nothing for safety but it will do a lot to make paranoid conservatives happy.

          • Re: (Score:1)

            by Anonymous Coward

            Posting AC...

            Why the hell a wall? For that cost, one could make a bunch of drones that just watch an area and then call the border patrol people when someone intrudes. Done right, it is the same protection, with a lot less of an environmental impact.

            Take the cost savings and use it for infrastructure and perhaps some better diplomatic relationships with Mexico... Mexico's economy is booming, and is 15'th in the world for GDP. Might even be wise to set up a Schengen Agreement allowing for US/Canada/Mexico

            • Why the hell a wall?

              Because it makes a bunch of racist, idiot conservatives think they are solving an actual problem. People coming here to work - the horror... Ironically they could keep all the brown skinned people out much more effectively by helping Mexico boost their economy. They come here because there aren't jobs back home. What we should worry about is if the immigrants stop wanting to come here.

              Done right, it is the same protection, with a lot less of an environmental impact.

              Conservatives don't generally give much a shit about environmental impact. They think clean air is nothing more than a

            • Re: (Score:1)

              by Tablizer ( 95088 )

              You are trying to use logic to figure out Trump?

              Proof of a manned mission: you just arrived from another planet.

        • u mistake racism for safety.

    • Re: (Score:3)

      by hey! ( 33014 )

      Well, not caring much about safety will be a cost savings, not that they need it. China's current GDP is 9x larger than the US GDP was in 1969. That and given that technology has made many things cheaper, and the general outlines of how to do it have been proven, and it should be very feasible for them to mount an impressive mission.

      • Re:On the One Hand... (Score:4, Interesting)

        by istartedi ( 132515 ) on Thursday March 09, 2017 @03:28PM (#54008869) Journal

        I don't think the Chinese will cut corners on this one. It's one thing to make a piece of military equipment cheaper and accept higher casualties. It's a different ball game in space. You can just throw more soldiers into a battle. You can't just throw more astronauts at the Moon. They're worth too much. It's not *just* a human life on the line. It's the cost to their international prestige and the value of contracting services to other nations. We don't use Soyuz rockets just to save money. They're also one of the most (the most?) reliable man-rated boosters. I'm sure the Chinese would love to have a business like that.

        • we are using Soyuz rockets because we do not have a choice.
          Once we have a choice, that will stop.

          And while I have issues with putin and trump, I am hopeful that Russia will be part of the lunar mission.

  • Rip out American Flag (Score:4, Funny)

    by coinreturn ( 617535 ) on Thursday March 09, 2017 @12:52PM (#54007673)
    I think it'd be funny if they decided that they would rip out the American Flag and put theirs in it's place. What you going to do about it, bitch?

    • I think it'd be funny if they decided that they would rip out the American Flag and put theirs in it's place. What you going to do about it, bitch?

      The American flags on the moon would all be bleached white by now.

    • Re: (Score:2)

      by arth1 ( 260657 )

      I think it would be funny if they brought back some of the items left on the moon, and which were subsequently sold in auctions, like a Hasselblad camera.

      • Re: (Score:2)

        by AmiMoJo ( 196126 )

        Even better, just say "We went where they said they landed, and there was nothing. Whole thing must have been hoax."

        Give it a week to let the conspiracy theorists go nuts, then tweet "LOL jk".

    • Even if there is a god and an Easter Bunny and we made it ti the moon 48 years ago, you don't get to plant a flag, abandon the place, and then get indignant if someone else gets there and tries to claim it. In addition to stupid statements that the U.S. made at the time, we failed to colonize the moon. If you want to claim ownership of a place you have got to go in and kill the natives and start exploiting it. We dropped the ball on any claim to the moon. Get over it.

    • Re: (Score:2)

      by AmiMoJo ( 196126 )

      I'd bring it back and hand it to Trump. "Found this, thought you might want it."

  • Forty eight years after the United States did it. That seems to always be the case with China. For example nuclear weaponry - we had it in 1945 - they got it thirty years later.

  • I welcome this (Score:3)

    by Zontar_Thing_From_Ve ( 949321 ) on Thursday March 09, 2017 @01:03PM (#54007767)
    I welcome this and hope they do it because as the film "Gravity" explicitly said and the recent National Geographic series "Mars" implied if you read between the lines (the first crew to go to Mars had a Russian on it but the only Asian was Korean American... hmmm....) it's going to take this before the US ever gets serious again about manned exploration of space.

    • Manned exploration of the Moon is honestly kinda pointless. It's close enough that signal delay isn't an issue for robots, and that's one of, maybe even the *only*, advantage humans have over robots for exploration. Robots are cheaper, simpler, lighter, less fragile, easier to handle, and less likely to malfunction. Even in the 60s manned Moon missions were as much a pissing match between the US and USSR as they were a valid scientific goal. Now, if they send people to the Moon and keep them there for exten

      • But we could have a long-term lunar scientific colony operating right now, if we really wanted to, and it's almost an embarrassment to mankind that we don't, nearly 50 years after Apollo 11.

        Not really. It would have cost a great deal of money for comparably little scientific value.

        • Re: (Score:1)

          by balbeir ( 557475 )
          On the other hand the Iraq war had an enormous amount of scientific value. Money well spent !

      • People are inspired by astronauts and dream of becoming one. That's a big point. You might as well say art is pointless.

    • A mars colony would never work. We all know men are from Mars and women are from venus. You need both to have a self-sustaining colony.

  • Time for Trump to beat them and beat them to mars!!

    • Re: (Score:2, Funny)

      by Anonymous Coward

      Time for Trump to beat them and beat them to mars!!

      Agreed. I for one would love to see him go. :-)

  • Anyone want to take a bet the Chinese will try to claim they 'own' part of the moon (if not the whole thing), just because they landed on it and planted a flag, regardless of any international agreements to the contrary? South China Sea, the Moon, what's the difference, right? Just 'build' something on it, and stand there with a rifle claiming it's yours now, right?

    Old and busted: The Middle East, Ukraine, ISIS
    New hotness: Moonwars
    • NO, but I'll bet that they don't.

  • ...with Trump's ego driven presidency, this news might be *just* what we needed to see substantial actual presidential pressure to advance the US space program.

    Sometimes the cards just fall right.

  • Filming will begin this summer, giving enough time for "moon landing" conspiracy theorists to sow the seeds of doubt and uncertainty coupled with a healthy dose of conviction.

    • It would be nice of the Chinese could land in the same location(s) as the US did just to prove that we were there first.

      You know, for those people who don't believe that we put a mirror up there and we have been bouncing laser beams off of it to accurately measure the distance of the moon from us.

  • Please clean up your space debris mess while you're up there? You know... from the time you blew up your own satellite like ridiculous assholes? Thank you.

    • Re: (Score:2)

      by ghoul ( 157158 )

      They should have blown up a US satellite. Than the EPA would have made the owner do the cleanup which would be the US govt in that case.

  • First step when they get there:

    Kick over the American flag.

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