Space

Yutu, Earth’s Moon, and Rust

China's Moon Rover looks familiar
On Sunday, December 1, 2013 at 17:30 UTC (12:30 EST) a Chinese Long March 3B or Chang-Zheng 3B (CZ-3B) lifted off from the Xichang Space Center, China carrying the first mission to make a “soft landing” (non-impact) on the Moon since the Soviet lander Luna-24 (August 22, 1976). The overall mission is called Chang’e 3 with the lunar rover mission called Yutu or “Jade Rabbit.”  Landing of Chang’e 3 will be taking place on approximately December 16, 2013 and the scheduled landing zone is Sinus Iridum (Bay of Rainbows).   Chang’e 3 is the third in the Chang’e series with the first two being lunar orbiters. “Yutu is a symbol of kindness, purity and agility, and is identical to the moon rover in both outlook and connotation. Yutu also reflects China’s peaceful use of space,” – Li Benzheng, deputy commander-in-chief of China’s lunar program.  Uh-huh. Forget Tibet, human rights, environmental destruction, etc.  There is also this traditional wisdom:

“All armies prefer high ground to low and sunny places to dark.”
– Sun Tzu, 544 -496 B.C.

The cost of the Apollo program which safely placed and returned the first men to the moon cost the citizens the United States $25.4 billion 1969 dollars ($161.64 billion dollars in 2013 metrics) of research and development.  It is unfortunate that the return on taxpayer investment will not benefit the American people.

Decades of United States politicians who were – and are – either technologically illiterate, lacking in any true vision of a better future, or flat-out corrupt, are responsible for this latest example of the ongoing involuntary American Taxpayer support of Chinese space program (2011).

As of the writing of this post, the current thinking in Washington is that NASA should not be looking to develop bases on the moon.  The thought is that enterprises of lunar and near space exploitation will be successfully undertaken by private industry.   While this may be true, the unforseen exception will be  that the heralded private industry will be China in the form of the Chinese government.
Mission Links:
Live streaming of launch
Chang’e3 Mission Information
European Space Agency (ESA) aid to China’s Chang’e 3
China National Space Administration (CNSA)