China plans to land on the Moon by 2020

[Alexa]

We all know by now NASA plans to go back on the Moon in the next decades. Reason for China to plan her own landing, by 2020.

“I think about 10 to 15 years later, we will have the ability to build our own space station and to carry out a manned moon landing,'' Hu Shixiang, deputy commander in chief of China's manned space flight program, said in Hong Kong.

He also said : “It's not the competition of the Cold War era''

Hmm. Looks like a competition though.

http://www.space.com/missionlaunches/ap_051127_china_moon.html

 

[chrispenycate]

We all know by now NASA plans to go back on the Moon in the next decades. Reason for China to plan her own landing, by 2020.



He also said : “It's not the competition of the Cold War era''

Hmm. Looks like a competition though.

http://www.space.com/missionlaunches/ap_051127_china_moon.html

And a very good way to have a competition- IMHO "look, my space rocket's bigger/faster/higher than yours" is much better than "my nuclear warhead's-" oh, you get the point. It's a little surprising that it's the empire of the center, traditionally very inward looking, but the more the merrier, and they've certainly got the resources.
It's not because the stars and stripes fly on the moon that it's out of bounds to everyone else- and although the adrenaline rush I got in '69 is somewhat diluted by the knowledge I won't see the next step, I, for one, hope the chinese can raise the funds to carry the torch ever onward.

 

[AA Institute]

I am all for being ambitious, and I hope China does something to accelerate the Moon race for more capable authorities like NASA. But with all due respect, I think the "experience gap" is huge... as I noted a while back, on my first flight of fancy to Kennedy Space Centre:

http://www.astroscience.org/abdul-ahad/florida2003.htm



And my own toy rockets leaping toward low Earth orbit... only to turn back after the initial thousand feet of skyward boost:

http://www.astroscience.org/abdul-ahad/rocketry.htm

 

[Alexa]

Sorry for being absent lately. I had difficulties with my internet connection.

Esa could plan a land on the Moon, too. And why not another country, like Canada for example ? Just kiding. I know our space station is far away from NASA's facilities. *sigh"

You are right, the more the merrier for the future of space exploration.

 

[SHOOTING*]

Good for them

 

[edott]

Fantastic, Glad to see other countries getting into outer space. had heard something a while back about India getting into space.
should be grand.

 

[dreamwalker]

great news
everything is falling to plan >)

 

[Spartan27]

Eventually (sometime in the future) we will need to go to places like the moon, but perhaps Mars and colonize that...should be an earth project though.

 

[Robert M. Blevins]

China may find out, just as the U.S. did, that going to the Moon is not as easy as they might think. Or, as Tom Hanks said in 'Apollo 13...'

"There's nothing routine about going to the moon."

Alexa: The Canadian Space Agency is fully operational. Sometimes their astronauts go up in the Shuttle.
Google: John H. Chapman Space Centre

 

[Talysia]

Admittedly, it would be nice to see other countries getting to the moon, but I hope that there aren't too many problems with it. As a lot of people are saying, getting to the moon isn't easy...

 

[Urien]

The moon is ours, ours I say.

Actually I believe that by treaty it's a kind of Antarctica.

Still one day getting payloads into space will be cheaper and then we'll see competition.

 

[Spartan27]

Maybe they are going there to find the white dolphin that is now extint in china??

 

[Joel007]

Why feed the hungry when you can go wandering into space, I say.
Good luck to them, its about time their scientists got a chance to do something exciting

 

[Jim Colyer]

China going to the moon is a positive thing. We need to build strong ties with China.