Posted on 05/31/2007 5:22:01 AM PDT by voletti
China and India are both planning to launch moon shots within a year in the latest sign of the two Asian powerhouses’ intensifying rivalry and growing technological prowess.
Although both countries deny they are engaged in a 21st century re-run of the 1960s race to the moon between the cold war superpowers, their haste to launch suggests more than casual interest in the other’s progress.
China said this month that it expected to launch its first unmanned lunar orbiter, the Chang’e-1 (named after China’s mythological “lady in the moon”) before the end of this year, while India this week announced that it could send up a similar space probe as early as April 2008.
The two lunar programmes should be scientifically complementary, with Chinese scientists stressing Chang’e’s goal of improving understanding of the geochemistry of the moon’s surface and India focusing on three-dimensional mapping.
Chinese lunar programme scientist Ouyang Ziyuan told the Financial Times in 2005 that he was excited about the possibility that the moon might be a rich source of helium-3, a potential fuel for nuclear fusion reactors that is scarce on earth.
S. Krishnamurthy, a spokesman for the Indian Space Research Organisation, said on Wednesday that the spin-offs for India’s nuclear programme from potential lunar sources of helium-3 could be “considerable”.
Non-governmental groups have put the Indian space agency on the defensive about the programme, arguing it is hard for a country that is home to a quarter of the world’s poor to justify costly space missions.
(Excerpt) Read more at ft.com ...
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Wow. Should make for some great lunar take-out.
Can a 7-11 store on the moon be far behind??
Stocked with goods made in China!
I’d rather a free people living in a democratic nation do well whether down on earth or up there in space.
How much string will the Chinese need to get that kite to the moon?
First place prize, the winner gets to move its society there.YIIIIIIIIIIIIIIPEEEEEEEEEEEE,it’s a TIE !!!
Excellent news - while neither are on my favoured nations list, the more impetus to keep humanity in space the better. I’d rather have a Chinese lunar base than none at all!
It will be interesting to see how India and China pull this off. Neither have gone through the space progams of the 60s and 70s that the USA have accomplished and neither have any first hand knowledge of space exploration.
A manned flight to the moon is far more complex than an unmanned mission to the moon. It takes experienced personnel in space and on the ground built from the ground-up. You cannot outsource this to other 3rd world countries.
I seriously doubt either country will be able to pull this off.
Looks like we’ll have another flag on the moon. My bet is on China. They don’t have the same concerns for human life and will be willing to take more risks. The risk of embarrassment is all that would hold them back.
I think both of those countries have enough problems here on earth. They don’t need to go to the moon.
That's what is interesting - China's program so far has been very rational and realistic in terms of mastering each step. I don't know much about China's.
I do hope that the competition to beat each other doesn't lead to intelligent progression falling prey to a breakneck rush. That's how you get tragedies.
Personally, I think both countries have the capacity, technologically and intellectually, to achieve their stated aims. The question is, do they have the political strength to achieve these aims without making political considerations override scientific and engineering factors - that's where I worry for them both.
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