NASA Administrator Michael Griffin made headlines recently when he predicted that Chinese astronauts would land on the moon before U.S. astronauts can return there.
In light of what’s turning out to be a global moon race, with Japan, India and China all take part, here is what Griffin said Sept. 17 at a forum marking NASA’s 50th anniversary.
“I don’t think people broadly understand how capable today Russia, China, India are, not that we need to regard any of these people as adversaries or that Europe and Japan are, and that it lacks only the decision to do it for those nations or societies to do exciting and prominent things.”
“I personally believe that China will be back on the moon before we are. I think when that happens, Americans will not like it, but they will just have to not like it.”
Such a feat will give China a huge boost, he said, and mark a setback for the U.S.
“We will see again that nations look up to nations that appear to be at the top of the technical pyramid, and they want to do deals with those nations. It is one of the things that made us the world’s greatest economic power. So I think we will be reinstructed in that lesson in the coming years, and I hope that Americans will take that instruction positively and react to it by investing in those things which are at the leading edge of what is possible.”
According to this web site, there’s a lot of regional activity going on in space.
Just last Thurday, Japan’s Kaguya probe successfully attained lunar orbit. The probe is part of the largest lunar exploration program since the U.S. Apollo program in the late 1960s and early 1970s.
Even as Griffin reassured NASA employees that he is fighting against further layoffs, he reiterated that NASA expects to land a human on the moon no later than 2020.
By then, the lunar surface may have Chinese footprints.
China is planning to send an unmanned orbiter (Chang’e 1) to the moon perhaps as soon as this month, and then send a rover to land on the moon in 2012. China expects to land humans on the moon before 2020.
Japan is also expecting to send a manned lunar landing mission to the Moon around 2020.
India expects to launch Chandrayaan, an unmanned lunar orbiter, by 2008. They expect to launch their first astronaut into space by 2014, with a manned lunar landing mission by 2020.
Russia and Germany have announced unmanned lunar orbiter missions, both around 2012. No manned missions have been announced, however.
The race (back) to the moon is on.
What if the Chinese get to the moon and discover that there are moon cakes there left behind from visitors that came before them?
Picture them breaking open the moon cake, and inside is a slip of paper.... saying.... revolt on October 10!
Posted by: A B | October 08, 2007 at 12:28 AM
A posting about going for the moon attracts hardly any comments. Not even talk Moon Cakes can bring out the fruit cakes on this blog...
Perhaps they have taken their quarrel to the dark side of the moon?
Posted by: A B | October 08, 2007 at 04:22 PM
The US went to the moon first, even if it was 30 years ago and we didn't stay. Also, when the US returns, it will be with the building blocks for a long term presence, not to take videos and rock samples.
Posted by: nanheyangrouchuan | October 08, 2007 at 11:47 PM
When the US returns to the moon with building blocks etc. for a long term presence, will the effort have to be financed with bonds purchased by China?
Posted by: A B | October 09, 2007 at 04:00 PM
Perhaps, China will need to buy those bonds to maintain its fixed currency exchange rate.
Posted by: nanheyangrouchuan | October 10, 2007 at 01:09 AM
Why go back to the moon in anycase?? NASA has had its sights on Mars for decades now.
Posted by: rio | October 11, 2007 at 04:47 AM
Going to Mars is just sort of heading home... it is Venus that must be avoided.
Who needs to make it all the way to the Astronauts corps only to be henpecked?
Posted by: A B | October 11, 2007 at 04:00 PM
I totally agree with your opinion that Chinese astronauts would land on the moon before U.S astronauts.
It might be a good thing for different countries planning to land on the moon at the same time,competition results in pressure and pressure ensure the programme become more efficent.I only wish that the some tragedy of STS Challenger won't happen again.
Posted by: Michelle | December 03, 2007 at 07:42 AM
I wonder why moon is so attracitve that the world is crazy about it. We sent satellites to take pictures and landed a man on it, with the cost of billions of dollars. But, what's the benifit? Many countries state that it is for further exploration of buiding habitation on moon, but who would live there at a cost of maybe 1 million per day? Bill Gateses? Even he would not choose to live there, because it is meaningless. Why not using all that money to make our environment better instead of planning another earth?
Posted by: richard | December 05, 2007 at 08:00 AM