Stories
Slash Boxes
Comments

SoylentNews is people

posted by martyb on Wednesday July 18 2018, @02:11AM   Printer-friendly
from the To-the-moon,-Alice...-to-the-moon! dept.

Chinese space official seems unimpressed with NASA's lunar gateway

This week, the European and Chinese space agencies held a workshop in Amsterdam to discuss cooperation between Europe and China on lunar science missions. The meeting comes as Europe seems increasingly content to work with China on spaceflight programs.

Although the meeting is not being streamed online, space systems designer and lunar exploration enthusiast Angeliki Kapoglou has been providing some coverage of the meeting via Twitter. Among the most interesting things she has shared are slides from a presentation by Pei Zhaoyu, who is deputy director of the Lunar Exploration and Space Program Center of the China National Space Administration.

[...] Overall, Pei does not appear to be a fan of NASA's plan to build a deep space gateway, formally known as the Lunar Orbital Platform-Gateway, at a near-rectilinear halo orbit. Whereas NASA will focus its activities on this gateway away from the Moon, Pei said China will focus on a "lunar scientific research station."

[...] So far, NASA has yet to finalize commitments with Europe, Russia, or other International Space Station partners on contributions to the gateway. While European officials are interested, it seems like they may also be willing to go along with China if that country has a more direct plan to land humans on the Moon.

Related: NASA Could Scale Down First Manned Flight of the SLS
2020s to Become the Decade of Lunar Re-Exploration
This Week in Space Pessimism: SLS, Mars, and Lunar Gateway


Original Submission

 
This discussion has been archived. No new comments can be posted.
Display Options Threshold/Breakthrough Mark All as Read Mark All as Unread
The Fine Print: The following comments are owned by whoever posted them. We are not responsible for them in any way.
  • (Score: 3, Insightful) by Fluffeh on Wednesday July 18 2018, @03:34AM (5 children)

    by Fluffeh (954) Subscriber Badge on Wednesday July 18 2018, @03:34AM (#708642) Journal

    China builds on the moon

    The problem that I see is that China will make a peaceful research station. Like the civilian research stations they built on pacific reefs. With no military stuff at all. Apart from those little rocket launching turrets that appear one night. Oh, yes, and the lasers that are used for peaceful purposes. Sharks may be added at a later date.

    But yeah. Land first, claim rights. It's like early european colonisation all over, except in space and with the abilities for things to escalate into much larger confrontations in the space of minutes or hours.

    Starting Score:    1  point
    Moderation   +1  
       Insightful=1, Total=1
    Extra 'Insightful' Modifier   0  
    Karma-Bonus Modifier   +1  

    Total Score:   3  
  • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday July 18 2018, @08:19AM (1 child)

    by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday July 18 2018, @08:19AM (#708707)

    I look forward to the Chinese exploring the moon's surface.... especially if they have no state religion involved and they are free to reveal what they find.

    I have an ulterior motive - as I believe we are far older than we have record of, and I also believe its very likely we were seeded here by a far more highly technically advanced race than what we are now, but if so, the evidence of this will be on the moon. If America was to go there, I would be quite concerned that the findings would be "classified" so as to avoid upsetting the quite profitable apple carts of our local religions.

    Nor do I think America has the drive to do anything like this anymore - doing stuff like this is so '60's for us. Its far more profitable for us to have someone else do it, and we give them permission to do it. For a fee, of course. Payable in the currency we print.

    • (Score: 3, Funny) by Freeman on Wednesday July 18 2018, @03:11PM

      by Freeman (732) on Wednesday July 18 2018, @03:11PM (#708808) Journal

      You watched the new Babylon series too, huh?

      --
      Joshua 1:9 "Be strong and of a good courage; be not afraid, neither be thou dismayed: for the Lord thy God is with thee"
  • (Score: 2) by Runaway1956 on Wednesday July 18 2018, @02:53PM (2 children)

    by Runaway1956 (2926) Subscriber Badge on Wednesday July 18 2018, @02:53PM (#708791) Journal

    Somehow, I think a lot of us have things a little skewed. After just a couple generations, maybe not even that long, there won't be nationalities among the people in space. If there are only a half dozen people within a quarter million miles, those half dozen are likely to view each other as the most important half dozen people in the universe. And, they will cultivate good feels, just as much as possible.

    Given a thousand people, the same will hold true, just to a slightly lesser extent. 500 from western nations, and another 500 from eastern nations - they'll be more self-reliant, but they will still see themselves as neighbors, with no other neighbors close by to assist in time of need. A little inter-marrying, or just some hanky-panky now and then, there will be a "new race", or at least a "new nationality" establishing itself. Neither Chinese, nor Russian, nor French, nor American, or even African - they'll be spacers.

    I recommend the books and/or the movies, 'The Expanse'. There will be new differences created among the spacers, but they will lose the old differences. Ultimately, there will be no earth nationalities in space. Not even 'Muricans.