Is the fact that China has now landed on the dark side of the moon a good thing or a bad thing?
although I have always been in favor of space exploration this latest event seems more like a political move and not a good one....
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answers:
Davros say: I think CNSA have done an extraordinary job with Chang'e 4 mission. I'm not sure how it could be a bad thing?
Unless the person in question is a flat earther or creationist that is - in which case they probably don't even believe any of it is real!
Sure, there's politics swirling around at the moment, and it does not help that China obsessively stage manages it's space achievements for propagandistic purposes. Ultimately that doesn't take away from achieving a well executed frontier space mission, and putting a lander/rover onto the dark side of the Moon is absolutely a first. We will learn new things as a result.
China didn't start this cold relationship over space exploration either. America chose to exclude China from cooperation in space. they vetoed Chinese involvement in the International Space Station and in 2011 Congress banned NASA and its affiliate employees from having anything to do with Chinese science. It's a decision that has earned derision from Europe and Russia who have continued cooperation with China. ESA incidentally, has a science experiment onboard the Chang'e 4 mission.
A number of NASA employees and US astrophysicists are also deeply unhappy over the move and have taken to boycotting conferences where Chinese nationals have been specifically excluded.
There's nothing in all these politics that we weren't seeing back during the cold war, and spats between East and West were continual. I do find it sad though that in the one place where Humanity is supposed to work together in common goal, we're still having to put up with nationalist paranoia and jingoism. Above the atmosphere it must all look very childish.
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tham153 say: It landed in the Aitken South Polar Basin, the Moon's largest crater which may have penetrated deep enough to expose material from beneath the lunar mantle, providing scientific data hitherto unattainable
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nineteenthly say: Good. Ultimately it's better that steps are taken to preserve the human species than that the conditions under which they live are democratic or preserve human rights. However, it's pretty ridiculous that the free world can't be bothered to ensure that the future of humanity is fair or free.
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ngc7331 say: the is no such thing as bad exploration. the USA should not have stopped exploring the moon, we were just beginning to get good at it when congress pulled the plug.
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Robert say: It is bad as far as the US is concerned. The Chinese can now claim ownership of the dark side. Previously, the US claimed the entire moon, although the lunar landings occurred on the lit side.
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Bill-M say: Dark side of the Moon?? Where's that? The Moon does not have a Dark Side. It has a FAR SIDE. The Far Side is NOT dark, it gets just as much sunlight as the side facing Earth.
You asked good thing or bad thing? Good Thing. Any country that advances Space Exploration is good.
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PhotonX say:
.
.
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poldi2 say: They landed on the FAR side of the moon (there is no dark side) and any time humans explore new things its a good thing.
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Nyx say: Why does it need to be political?
The Soviet - US race to the Moon was certainly political in its motivation, but those days are long past.
And are the other countries who have been to the Moon (India, And Japan) have a political agenda too? How about the upcoming Israeli lunar probe mission, or the latest Indian crewed mission that might be launched sometime this year? Are those politically motivated as well?
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CarolOklaNola say: It's a good thing. The Moon does NOT have a dark side. It's the first rover on the Far side, IF it it does not stop working unless than 3 hours like the other rover did.
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Tomalochk say: It might be a good thing for Duracell ... they're going to need alot of lights to get around ....Too bad they didn't land on the lit side , then they'd be able to explore better .
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Davros say: I think CNSA have done an extraordinary job with Chang'e 4 mission. I'm not sure how it could be a bad thing?
Unless the person in question is a flat earther or creationist that is - in which case they probably don't even believe any of it is real!
Sure, there's politics swirling around at the moment, and it does not help that China obsessively stage manages it's space achievements for propagandistic purposes. Ultimately that doesn't take away from achieving a well executed frontier space mission, and putting a lander/rover onto the dark side of the Moon is absolutely a first. We will learn new things as a result.
China didn't start this cold relationship over space exploration either. America chose to exclude China from cooperation in space. they vetoed Chinese involvement in the International Space Station and in 2011 Congress banned NASA and its affiliate employees from having anything to do with Chinese science. It's a decision that has earned derision from Europe and Russia who have continued cooperation with China. ESA incidentally, has a science experiment onboard the Chang'e 4 mission.
A number of NASA employees and US astrophysicists are also deeply unhappy over the move and have taken to boycotting conferences where Chinese nationals have been specifically excluded.
There's nothing in all these politics that we weren't seeing back during the cold war, and spats between East and West were continual. I do find it sad though that in the one place where Humanity is supposed to work together in common goal, we're still having to put up with nationalist paranoia and jingoism. Above the atmosphere it must all look very childish.
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Acetek say: there is no DARK side of the moon. That is from the Pink Floyd Album
It is the FAR side of the moon.
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