Before
this decade is out, humanity will go where it’s never gone before: the
far side of the moon. This dark side—forever facing away from us—has
long been a mystery. No human-made object has ever touched its surface.
The mission will be a marvel of engineering. It will involve a rocket
that weighs hundreds of tons (traveling almost 250,000 miles), a robot
lander, and an unmanned lunar rover that will use sensors, cameras, and
an infrared spectrometer to uncover billion-year-old secrets from the
soil. The mission also might scout the moon’s supply of helium-3—a
promising material for fusion energy. And the nation planting its starry
flag on this historic trip will be the People’s Republic of China.
After years of investment and strategy, China is well on its way to becoming a space superpower—and maybe even a dominant one. The Chang’e 4 lunar mission is just one example of its scope and ambition for turning space into an important civilian and military domain. Now, satellites guide Chinese aircraft, missiles, and drones, while watching over crop yields and foreign military bases. The growing number of missions involving Chinese rockets and taikonauts are a source of immense national pride.
“China sees space capability as an indication of global-leadership status,” says John Logsdon, founder of the Space Policy Institute at George Washington University. “It gives China legitimacy in an area that is associated with great power.”
After years of investment and strategy, China is well on its way to becoming a space superpower—and maybe even a dominant one. The Chang’e 4 lunar mission is just one example of its scope and ambition for turning space into an important civilian and military domain. Now, satellites guide Chinese aircraft, missiles, and drones, while watching over crop yields and foreign military bases. The growing number of missions involving Chinese rockets and taikonauts are a source of immense national pride.
“China sees space capability as an indication of global-leadership status,” says John Logsdon, founder of the Space Policy Institute at George Washington University. “It gives China legitimacy in an area that is associated with great power.”
