China will head for the moon this year

China's National Space Administration (NSA) is planning to send a probe to the moon later this year, according to reports. The state-controlled Xinhau news agency reports that Sun Laiyan, director of the NSA, was speaking at Beijing Jiaotong University. He said: "The moon probe project is the third milestone in China's space …

[Anonymous Coward]

Can't wait...

...hopefully they will be carrying a video feed, will land somewhere near where the Yanks "landed" and check whether that fluttering flag is still there.

[Andy - Seattle]

To boldly go where someone else has gone before...

Any edge that the US had in the realm of space will soon be like comparing the Enterprise to the Excelsior as it seems the Chinese are bound and determined to get to the moon quickly in preparation for further manned space exploration.

We've been making trips to Mars, anyone think NASA has it in them to take a man to Mars and more importantly bring him back? I am personally doubtful but in light of these developments it may be time for a one-up.

[BobApril]

Competition spurs progress...again?

I earnestly wish the Chinese success in their space ventures. I can think of very few events better designed to encourage my fellow Americans to get the government up off its collective duff and back into manned space exploration. Maybe this time we'll figure out how to make a buck up there beyond geosync orbit - that will keep us moving in the right direction and not resting on our as...er, laurels.

[Anonymous Coward]

RE: To boldly go...

I not only doubt NASA has it in them to get a man to Mars and back, but that they have or had it in them to get to the Moon and back.

[Jasmine Strong]

They're called taikonauts

Chinese spacefarers are called taikonauts, not astronauts, in the same wat that Russians in space are called cosmonauts.

As for making money on the moon, I have great hopes for 3He extraction...

[Mark Lynch]

I wonder...

I wonder where the USA would be now in space exploration terms if they'd dedicated themselves to discovering/exploring new planets and solar systems for the last 30 odd years instead of dedicating themselves to destroying the only planet we have.

[Joce]

3He is the future

3He could solve all our energy problems and the moon is the only place to get it.

There's nothing like a bit of competition to get things moving, let's hope this particular race heats up as quickly as possible.

[Mel Collins]

Taikonaut

Actually, it's only the western press who refer to chinese spacefarers as Taikonauts. In all the official english-language press releases, they've been referred to as Astronauts (and Cosmonauts in the russian versions).

[Anonymous Coward]

tired

didn't someone do this already?

someone tell the chinese that they are playing catchup - in a world where it is no longer morally justified to squander energy. If someone bleats "but the first world did it...<pout>" then also explain that priorities have shifted. We *really* don't need that many cheap microwave ovens, thanks all the same...

[Anonymous Coward]

not too much of a gap between stages two and three

I wouldn't rule out a one way Chinese mission. The idea was even suggested to NASA in 1961.

http://history.nasa.gov/SP-4205/ch3-2.html

"Another approach was the proposal to send a spacecraft on a one-way trip to the moon. In this concept, the astronaut would be deliberately stranded on the lunar surface and resupplied by rockets shot at him for, conceivably, several years until the space agency developed the capability to bring him back!"

.

[Bryan B]

Not a hoax after all

If they DO get there and find the US flag - whether flying or fallen over - at least it will nail all that guff about the US moon landing being a hoax!

[Pascal Monett]

Metal forest in the making

Another GPS network in the making ? So the EU is going to try to add one, China will want its own, meaning that India will not suffer to not have one, and Russia just might get into the ball as well. Meaning we're going to have at least 3 different GPS networks, maybe as much as 5, all with incompatible signals and competing frequencies.

Why, oh why does Humanity absolutely have to go and make a mess of everything it does ?

On the other hand, add a few more networks and Global Warming will be a thing of the past. We'll have Global Shading instead. Good thing too, because of all the rocket launches made to put those things up there in the first place, we'll probably add another degree Celsius to the average temperature (not that the average means anything, but hey, I'm not a climatologist).

[Paul A. Walker]

not a hoax?

That won't stop the conspiracy nuts - they'll just claim the Chinese footage is fake too!

[Stuart Van Onselen]

Title

No, Bryan B. Should the Chinese provide pictures of the US flag, the Hoax Believers will simply declare that the Chinese are in on the conspiracy, too.

This sort of irrational belief is a pathology, a sickness, something that cannot be swayed by mere "evidence".

[Mr D]

RE: That Flag

They might have to spend a long time looking I reckon ...

[Jan-Erik Finnberg]

That proves nothing

The Chinese showing pictures of the supposed US moon landing site would prove nothing except them being part of the global conspiracy.

[Daniel]

Well..

[quote]

"If they DO get there and find the US flag - whether flying or fallen over - at least it will nail all that guff about the US moon landing being a hoax!"

[/quote]

As long as they dont land in the first studio :D

[Anonymous Coward]

Global Conspiracy...?

The world today is a vastly different place as compared to when the Yanks first "landed" on the moon. Back then nobody even would of considered the pictures and the technology used were not anything but real.

Fast forward 40-or-so years and the global village is a very different place, with it's own new village idiot. If any pictures come back, they will be scrutinised beyond belief. Hell, we could probably watch them landing, given a good enough telescope. If China get to the moon and can't find the flag, NASA will say they are looking in the wrong place, or aliens have taken it, or some other lame-arsed excuse. If they DO show footage, then it's pretty unrealistic to claim they are part of the conspiracy as when did the Chinese last do a favour for America?

I, for one, hope they get there, with the right "co-ordinates" and find nothing. Where can I donate cash to speed this up?

[John]

Chinese Take Away

No doubt the Chinese would land by an American Apollo site and remove the evidence so they could tell the Chinese people THEY were first!!!

Chinese 1

Conspiracy nuts 1

Everyone else 0

[Stuart Van Onselen]

Conspiracy...

I weep for my fellow human beings.

http://www.badastronomy.com/

http://www.clavius.org/

And if you still believe it was all faked, visit

http://www.apa.org/

[Ryan]

One up? "oh no you didn't..."

Personally I think the funniest thing that could happen, provided of course the conspiracy stories are false, is:

1. Chinese Cosmo/Astro/Taikonauts land on the original moon landing site

2. Find flag

3. Photograph Flag

4. Deface/Replace Flag with PRC Flag

5. Photograph newly defaced/replaced flag with obligatory two-finger salute (the victory version, not that one...)

That would REALLY engender some ah... friendly competition...