Author: Peter Symonds / Source: World Socialist Web Site
China’s landing of a scientific probe on the far side of the Moon has led to a rash of media speculation, in the US in particular, about a new international space race amid heightened tensions between the two countries over economic issues, including trade, and a massive American military build-up in Asia against China.
Washington reacted with shock when the Soviet Union launched the Sputnik satellite in 1957 and in 1961 became the first country to put a human being into space. Yuri Gagarin completed one full orbit in his Vostok spacecraft and successfully returned to Earth. The United States poured billions into the NASA space program, recognising that at stake was not only national prestige but vital military applications. As a result, the US became the first nation to put someone on the Moon—Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin in 1969.
China has now achieved a space first of its own. While probes have previously been landed on the Moon, China’s Chang’e-4 was the first to make a soft landing on the side that is perpetually facing away from the Earth—the so-called far side of the Moon. According to the China National Space Administration, the probe landed at 10.26 a.m. Beijing time after hovering to allow a suitable site to be located. A photo—the first close-up image of the Moon’s far side—was beamed back to Earth via a relay satellite previously positioned 80,000 kilometres from the Moon.
China’s space agency declared that the mission’s success had “opened a new chapter in humanity’s exploration of the moon.” The instruments aboard Chang’e-4 and its lunar rover include cameras, ground-penetrating radar and spectrometers that provide data that will assist in understanding the Moon’s geology. The lander also carries biological experiments to see if seeds will germinate and silkworm eggs will hatch in the Moon’s low gravity.
In an article entitled “The space race is back on—and China is in the lead,” Guardian journalist Mary Dejevsky commented: “The first response of the US space agency, NASA, was generous, as scientists to scientists: what China had managed was a ‘first for humanity and an impressive accomplishment.’ The response in political and military quarters in Washington, as in Moscow, however, is likely to reflect trepidation.”
In 2003, China became only the third country after the US and Russia to successfully put astronauts into space using its own rockets. Since then, it has sent 11 astronauts into space so far, and in 2016, two of them spent 30 days in China’s own space station. Last year, China launched 36 rockets into space—more than any other country, including the US which launched 30.
Moreover, China’s space agency has ambitious plans. Another Moon landing of the Chang’e-5 is scheduled later this year. By 2022, China is aiming to have its third space station fully operational. It plans to begin building a base…
The post China’s moon landing to exacerbate tensions with US appeared first on FeedBox.