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[GK86]

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China has just released a new white paper on its policy and activities in space, outlining ambitious deep space exploration, human spaceflight and space science projects as major priorities for the years up to 2020 and beyond.

But what’s in store for the future is what’s really attention-grabbing. We already know of some of these: Chang’e-5, the first lunar sample return mission by any country since the 1970s, probably lifting off in late 2017, followed a year later by an unprecedented landing on the far side of the Moon. Summer 2020 will see the launch of the country’s first independent interplanetary mission, to Mars, which boldly combines an orbiter, lander and rover in one shot.

But these plans have now officially been expanded. Wu Yanhua, vice head of China National Space Administration (CNSA), stated at today’s press conference in Beijing that it will, “also carry out robotic exploration of the south and north poles of the moon twice in the next five and ten years”.

Stated in the text is a plan to attempt to collect and return samples from Mars around 2030. If so, China may actually beat NASA to achieving the type of mission that could have a profound impact on science and human history, depending on its findings.

Moving further out into the solar system, “exploration of the Jupiter system and planet fly-by exploration”, are other stated goals, while “related projects will be implemented to conduct research into major scientific questions such as the origin and evolution of the solar system, and search for extraterrestrial life.”

Some other notable projects and developments mentioned in the white paper, each worthy of serious attention, include:

• Construction of a modular, permanently crewed space station by around 2022
• Pursuing space science to drive independent innovation and development
• Opening the space sector to national and international private sources of capital
• Expansion of international cooperation, including developing countries
• Research into low-cost launch vehicles and a reusable space transportation system
• Earth observation, communications, navigation and other satellite constellations to boost socioeconomic progress and a civil space infrastructure and on-orbit servicing
• A focus on outreach, especially to elementary and secondary schools, and attracting world class scientists, engineers and other specialists

The paper includes a section on China’s “Purposes, Vision and Principles”, which essentially outlines the country’s policy toward space. This states the country aims to: “enhance understanding of the Earth and the cosmos,” and “utilize outer space for peaceful purposes,” but, at the same time use space to, “protect China's national rights and interests, and build up its national comprehensive strength.”

 

[Volimar]

I'm expecting the return to the moon with much fanfare and then half a dozen unfinished projects.

 

[Akuun]

This would be really cool if they actually make good on any of these.

Any space progress is progress.

 

[a Master Ninja]

Any space progress is progress.

Yep. China will get a man on Mars first at this rate.

 

[LoveCake]

Every country needs to take part and work together to get humans into space and living on the moon, mars and beyond.

 

[the_batman]

Every country needs to take part and work together to get humans into space and living on the moon, mars and beyond.

yeah, fuck Earth!

Yep. China will get a man on Mars first at this rate.

depends how much money they're willing to spend on all of this.

 

[DarkKyo]

Every country needs to take part and work together to get humans into space and living on the moon, mars and beyond.

Our scientists need to save us from our leaders who are ultimately fucking the earth and have the potential to outright destroy it. Get us out of here!!!

 

[ThreePiMatt]

Yep. China will get a man on Mars first at this rate.

No other country has landed a functional device on the surface of Mars. The US have put a small car on Mars, amongst other things. The US has such a massive lead on this.

 

[LoveCake]

yeah, fuck Earth!



depends how much money they're willing to spend on all of this.

Our scientists need to save us from our leaders who are ultimately fucking the earth and have the potential to outright destroy it. Get us out of here!!!

There is a paragraph in a book I read when I was young, it was a book my dad had and I now still have it, the only reason I have kept this book is because of this last paragraph in the book,

"Mankind is the first creature on earth to be potentially immortal, since we can now control evolution, control our environment – and in the future to an extent and in ways undreamed of now – we become invulnerable.

Then we could live here for a long time and, when scientist foresee the dangers from the sun, we could just move off?

Long before that. If we don’t recklessly and needlessly commit suicide, we will almost certainly reach a point where nothing else can hurt us except the over-all end of the entire universe."

Humans on earth are nothing yet in the big scheme of things in the galaxy or universe, we are a type 0 civilization on the Kardashev scale, explained by professor of theoretical physics Michio Kaku

 

[Calvero]

space race pls

 

[jakonovski]

space race pls

You mean space or race? Because while China is shooting for the stars, America is shooting black people.

 

[xam3l]

You mean space or race? Because while China is shooting for the stars, America is shooting black people.

 

[ClosingADoor]

Sounds good. Hope they complete all their goals and then some!

You mean space or race? Because while China is shooting for the stars, America is shooting black people.

Don't know if you want to get into a match between China and the US about who treats its minorities worse.

 

[Just_myles]

You mean space or race? Because while China is shooting for the stars, America is shooting black people.

Man, that was dark.

Any progress in this is good. Competition would be even better.

 

[bootsthecat]

No other country has landed a functional device on the surface of Mars. The US have put a small car on Mars, amongst other things. The US has such a massive lead on this.

Yeah, we're light years ahead. We hit the moon 57 years ago, lol. I mean, good luck to them though.

Musk and Bezos will probably outpace them for mars stuff.

USA! The commies will never win

 

[Kthulhu]

space race pls

Yes. I don't hate China or anything, but some healthy competition is just what NASA needs.

 

[kswiston]

Yeah, we're light years ahead. We hit the moon 57 years ago, lol. I mean, good luck to them though.

Musk and Bezos will probably outpace them for mars stuff.

USA! The commies will never win

I see US math education is living up to its reputation

 

[Chaos2Frozen]

China would gain a huge lead in space exploration while NASA is fighting to save their current data from a Trump Presidency.

As an Aerospace student I'm tempted to look in that direction than the US.

 

[Maintenance]

followed a year later by an unprecedented landing on the far side of the Moon.

Hell yeah, let's wake up some ancient aliens.

Spoiler

/s

 

[Ivan 3414]

You mean space or race? Because while China is shooting for the stars, America is shooting black people.

Race race?

 

[DiscoJer]

While the sourcing isn't the clearest, , supposedly they are testing the EM Drive up on their space station.

If, and it's a big IF, they can get it working in a practical manner, they will have a giant leap up on space travel.

 

[ReaperXL7]

I could see Trump getting mad if China starts to overshadow us in this regard and then push a real attempt at competing with China in a modern space race.It would be a positive even if it were for the wrong reason.

 

[John Rabbit]

Yep. China will get a man on Mars first at this rate.

Tell this to Trump and watch how fast and bigly we start building spaceships.

 

[Drazgul]

China would gain a huge lead in space exploration while NASA is fighting to save their current data from a Trump Presidency.

As an Aerospace student I'm tempted to look in that direction than the US.

Yeah but if science fiction has taught us anything, it's that those spacers will soon revolt against their terran oppressors anyway and it'll all be for naught.

 

[Acosta]

I'll buy a Space Race over any other form of penis size competition.

Maybe Trump hubris will serve yet to a good cause.

 

[bootsthecat]

I see US math education is living up to its reputation

lol, I glanced at the the first date on the moon landing wikipedia entry and went with that.

So it's more highlighting lazy Americans, I suppose.

 

[KorrZ]

Well, if China starts investing heavily in space during Trump's presidency we might actually get some solid NASA funding again.

 

[Antiwhippy]

You mean space or race? Because while China is shooting for the stars, America is shooting black people.

Let's not treat China like the paragon of treatment of minorities.

 

[low-G]

I think China landing a man on Mars would finally get American's asses in shape. There would be so much shame and disappointment.

 

[Chezzymann]

Im rooting for them cause any competition in this field is a good thing.

 

[Jezbollah]

No other country has landed a functional device on the surface of Mars. The US have put a small car on Mars, amongst other things. The US has such a massive lead on this.

The US has little momentum when it comes to the Space programs at the moment - the fact SLS is a money pit and NASA are having to rely on commercial partners to send astronauts to the ISS instead of buying Soyuz seats from Russia shows that all they've had in terms of achievement is Mars landers and deep space probes.

China has demonstrated some serious capability in terms of their space program - they've launched three new vehicles (Long March 5, 6 and 7) in the space of 18 months for example. I wouldn't be surprised if they put a lander on Mars before NASA launches astronauts in Orion.

The US may be ahead, but if there's one nation that is capable of closing the gap in a very small amount of time, it's them.

 

[Chaos2Frozen]

I could see Trump getting mad if China starts to overshadow us in this regard and then push a real attempt at competing with China in a modern space race.It would be a positive even if it were for the wrong reason.

Trump would cut education Budget to fund NASA.

That's the kind of logic he would employ.

Yeah but if science fiction has taught us anything, it's that those spacers will soon revolt against their terran oppressors anyway and it'll all be for naught.

I don't care, I want space Gundam wars.

 

[Mathieran]

American politicians would hate to be outdone by China. I hope this gets some money funneling into NASA. They deserve to have a huge budget. We should cut military budget massively and put it right into NASA.

 

[Apathy]

Tell this to Trump and watch how fast and bigly we start building spaceships.

Just tell him there us a lot of undeveloped land, he could set up a hotel and a casino on it.

 

[LucidMomentum]

I could see Trump getting mad if China starts to overshadow us in this regard and then push a real attempt at competing with China in a modern space race.It would be a positive even if it were for the wrong reason.

Wasn't the original space race kind of also for meh reasons giving it stemmed from the desire to outdo the USSR?

 

[Chaos2Frozen]

American politicians would hate to be outdone by China. I hope this gets some money funneling into NASA. They deserve to have a huge budget. We should cut military budget massively and put it right into NASA.

They'll cut from everything but military.

As I've mentioned above I fully expect they'll cut from education.

 

[Biske]

Right on China.

Great to see a country giving a shit about space.


My grandest hope is they really have massive success and keep going and going.

If that happens to get the panties of countries like the US in a bunch and jump start us into giving a shit again, all the better.

 

[ReaperXL7]

Wasn't the original space race kind of also for meh reasons giving it stemmed from the desire to outdo the USSR?

Yeah, I think it was probably easier to support Kennedy for many then it is Trump though.

 

[Jezbollah]

Wasn't the original space race kind of also for meh reasons giving it stemmed from the desire to outdo the USSR?

You slightly understated it. It was the height of the cold war, and the USSR put the first satellite in orbit, the first lifeform in space (a dog), the first luna space craft, the first recovery of lifeforms from orbit, and finally the first man in orbit before the US performed it's first manned suborbital flight.

The US were way behind the USSR in terms of space achievement in the early 60s, then JFK committed to putting a man on the moon in that same decade. It galvanised the USA into an astonishing 10 years of human achievement to plant the stars and stripes there before 1970.

It should be no surprise that once the USSR lost interest in manned moon landings because the USA had beaten them that the Apollo landings were cancelled, and the space race slowed. The world went from dreaming of bases on the moon by 2000 to having been glad we were able to build a space station in low earth orbit..

 

[Soapbox Killer]

I just hope that our flag is still there.

 

[Chaos2Frozen]

I just hope that our flag is still there.

Remember that China likes to claim stuff as their own.

Better get some guys up there to sit on it.

 

[smokeandmirrors]

I just hope that our flag is still there.

it is but it's completely bleached now

 

[John Kowalski]

Strange, i don't see moon base written anywhere...

 

[CyclopsRock]

While the sourcing isn't the clearest, , supposedly they are testing the EM Drive up on their space station.

If, and it's a big IF, they can get it working in a practical manner, they will have a giant leap up on space travel.

For deep space stuff maybe, but for solar system stuff the EM drive's potential is basically nil. To escape earth orbit and perform heavenly body injections, you need very quick, very powerful burns. For Interstellar you need the sort of low-by-long thrust that an EM drive could potentially deliver.

 

[Mathieran]

They'll cut from everything but military.

As I've mentioned above I fully expect they'll cut from education.

You're right but a guy can dream.

 

[BrownWalrus]

No other country has landed a functional device on the surface of Mars. The US have put a small car on Mars, amongst other things. The US has such a massive lead on this.

"The first to contact the surface were two Soviet probes: Mars 2 lander on November 27 and Mars 3 lander on December 2, 1971—Mars 2 failed during descent and Mars 3 about twenty seconds after the first Martian soft landing. Mars 6 failed during descent but did return some corrupted atmospheric data in 1974."

I know that doesn't really fit your category of "functional" devices to have landed there (which I'm assuming means did not function long enough on the surface to conduct meaningful tests), but.. nonetheless, the Soviets were the first to land there.

"After the Mars 2 lander crashed on the martian surface, Mars 3 lander became the first spacecraft to attain soft landing on Mars. Both probes were launched by Proton-K rockets with Blok D upper stages."

They were also the first to land a vehicle on the moon:

"After the unsuccessful attempt by the Luna 1 to land on the moon in 1959, the Soviet Union performed the first hard (unpowered) moon landing later that same year with the Luna 2 spacecraft, a feat the U.S. duplicated in 1962 with Ranger 4."

And finally, they were the only ones to land and take pictures of the surface of Venus as well.

They're not juniors in space.

 

[TheSadRanger]

Wish I could have been born a half century later....

Then instead of watching Firefly I could be living it.. Saying mandarin curse words and telling Wash to get us of here..

 

[PdotMichael]

Meanwhile the NASA is banned from cooperating with China.

Would be disturbing if the USA isolates themselves from the rest of the world.

 

[Chaos2Frozen]

Meanwhile the NASA is banned from cooperating with China.

Would be disturbing if the USA isolates themselves from the rest of the world.

Would be interesting if all the major scientific projects moves out of the US to China.

 

[CyclopsRock]

Would be interesting if all the major scientific projects moves out of the US to China.

Why would that happen?