Chang’e-4 probe and rover

As I scrolled through the daily news last night an article caught my attention and reading it made me think. China has reached a major milestone in space exploration by landing a rover vehicle on the far side of the moon for the first time in history. This was announced by state media.

The reason this made me think was partly due to all of the conspiracies I’ve heard about the dark side of the moon. A mirage of thought with every side believing they’re correct. China wanted to see for themselves.

In reality what I truly pondered on was the social, economic, and political effects of this success. The landing of the probe, named Chang’e-4 after the moon goddess in Chinese mythology, is the first act in a coming series of missions that underscore the country’s ambitions to join, or possibly even lead, the world’s space race.

What implications does a “space race” bring to everyday life on both sides? Will civil unrest occur more than it already is? Will the markets of America be able to sustain if systems fail? Will arrogance lead the way in the race or will understanding?

These are the questions top US leaders are asking, and is why they’re so scared of being seen as a B-list celebrity in modern space exploration.

“This space mission shows that China has reached the advanced world-class level in deep space exploration,” said Zhu Menghua, a professor at the Macau University of Science and Technology who worked with China’s space administration. “We Chinese people have done something that the Americans have not dared try.”

“Have not dared try”. The underlying passive aggressive tone to that quote makes their success much more in our face down on Earth, rather than a success in the stars. It feels very “Cold War-ish” and might evolve into the US vs. China, with space becoming the major stage to show dominance.

China has been a late-bloomer of sorts, by decades, to space exploration but have quickly caught up. In the coming years China could even challenge the United States for supremacy in artificial intelligence, quantum computing and other undefined fields.

The crater on the moon where the Chinese landed is the oldest and deepest on the moon, so the probe’s discoveries may offer insights into the moon’s origins and evolution.

Very cool.

Scientists suspect that the surrounding basin may be rich in minerals.

This is all good news for scientists and space enthusiasts alike.

Exploiting the moon’s resources is alredy seen as the next big step in space development. So the landing has big implications that could shoot China to the top position in the modern space race. Putting The United States into a “space” of desperation.

China is also aiming to have a fully operational permanent space station by 2022, as the future of the International Space Station remains in doubt. This stems from the fact that federal NASA funding has decreased and, of course, political hinderances for further explorations have increased.

In comparison, despite its recent success in sending a robotic lander to Mars, NASA has faced years of budgetary constraints and a lack of faith from those in charge financially.

The Chinese government has long stressed its “peaceful motives” in space exploration, yet Washington increasingly views China, alongside Russia, as a potential threat.

That makes more sense.

The US has even accused Beijing of working to bring new weapons into space and prompting President Donald Trump to announce the establishment of a US Space Force by 2020.

This is turning into a bar fight, and still the US Congress has the senselessness to have properly barred NASA from directly working with China due to national security concerns.

Why not collaborate with the team about to beat you?

Experts suggest that combining military preparedness with diplomatic efforts would best deter perceived threats in space from all sides. All of that sounds nice until you are told this.

“unfortunately, the US has not shown interest in diplomatic leadership regarding space security.” This all looks like a way to even further puff out one’s chest and is part of why we live in the greedy world we do today.

Nobody, or no country, is willing to let borders fade and the real problems of the world be solved. We rather fight over which space toy is more advanced.

The tension between The US and China is now visible to the mass population and is a concern for most. We have politically, socially, and economically been the thought leaders for the world, but tides can change rapidly.

I hope that this will re-ignite some passion and faith back into NASA. I see it as extremely beneficial to explore the unknown. I just wish curiousity is all it took to start the flame again, not political or economic reasoning.

Cheers,

J. Robert Fallon III