Aside from the military possible use meteores of a Moon base, there has been much discussion amongst experts over the possibility of a meteor of the size that destroyed the dinosaurs that might impact the Earth catastrophically and most proposals for protection fail because any opposition launched from Earth would be inadequate to any really large incoming body. A Moon base could manufacture and launch small rocky satellites that could be made maneuverable and gradually accumulate further mass to throw any incoming comet or meteor off course to prevent its impact on Earth. One or several of these could be kept in orbit permanently as a shield against destruction of civilization and energized to protect the planet. The Moon has plenty of material to construct these defensive satellites.
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Thank you for the informative article. If it's true that the Chinese will prove a much more detailed report if the mission is successful, I hope the mission is successful. In fact, I simply wish the mission success!
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Although there is much excitement and publicity over the Musk effort to establish a colony on Mars, the immense problems of standard travel through space have hardly been explored deeply to prepare humans who have been designed by evolution to live on Earth in a protective atmosphere. It makes far more sense to work out the wrinkles close by on the Moon which seems to have amazingly been provided for that purpose with materials for Moon based industries and a low gravity which can launch probes and even large structures with linear accelerators powered by sunlight energy. Our moon provides a quick escape back to Earth if things go wrong. A Moon base with sophisticated technology can provide a sensible space port to the other planets and beyond far better than the Earth itself and the Earth is a close backup. From a military point of view, even rocks can be launched with the power of atomic missiles and no radioactivity . The first nation to build a working sophisticated Moonbase can dominate the Earth.
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@Jan Sand
This sounds really scary! But don't thermonuclear weapons already have the power to destroy the Earth? China already has those. That shouldn't calm me, but I guess it does (because it makes the new threat irrelevant?)
@KTT
The problem with nuclear weapons is that they are over destructive. They are unusable because a few nuclear missiles can destroy all life on the planet. A non-nuclear equivalent could possibly be militarily useful and if they are launched from the other side of the Moon the launch point is safe from counter attack.
So many science fiction novels about the far side of the Moon; perhaps the best is A FALL OF MOONDUST by Arthur C. Clarke.
There is also a heartbreaking story about Lunar colonists who are waiting, patiently, for the radioactive Earth—following a nuclear war—to become habitable again.
And how many dumb people still say, "the dark side of the Moon," as if it is dark when the side facing Earth is in shadow? Argh!
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I thought that was the song by ELO or something… Darkside of the moon “and I am now 9999 and then yeah yeah yeah”
Has Chang'e-3 resulted in any useful science being published?
A brief web search turned up nothing.
After giving a very detailed report on China's mission to the moon's far side, the reporter asked why is China so secretive about all of this.
How is China secretive? What are the secrets that China has kept? What is the evidence of this secrecy.
In a report on China's achievement in space, the New York Times simply cannot help itself and has to infuse negative comments regarding China.
I am surprised that China has not required the New York Times to register as an agent of the US government.
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@Michael Chow
Secretive compared to NASA missions where the mission timelines were publicized before the mission.
China will not reveal basic details like "When will you land". Russia never announced mission timelines or details either. It makes it easier if the mission fails.
China should be proud of this achievement, don't let the NYT spoil it.
Did Change'e-3 ever yield any actual science? A brief web search turns up nothing.
Please say "ni hau" to Gary Larsen for me!
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First time I have seen a picture of the far side of the moon.
Thanks!
I want pictures when this happens
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Congratulations are in order!
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This news fails to inspire me as to man’s capabilities as it did the first time as a kid in the sixties. Especially after reading about our capacity to make ourselves extinct in the Climate Change Report.
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Exciting to see so much happing in space, it so important. Wish there was more collaboration between nations
I wish the Chinese mission every success
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A Wonderful report. Thanks.
Best wishes for a success.
One question.
I thought international space agreements prohibit any living organisms from outer space or to be left behind on these planets.
This was because of unintended consequences of something actually happening and going out of control.
It is not dissimilar to why we have laws against agricultural products brought in without inspection.
And media reports say that some Chinese fish, algae and others that came with sea shipments have caused havoc here. It's not just the Chinese stuff - probably other countries too.
What gives China this power to do these "live" experiments.?
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Do the Chinese know that Pink Floyd did the far side of the moon in 1973?
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@Hector - So, it turns out that the Moon doesn't have a dark side ("Dark Side of the Moon" was the album name). They'll have to do a recall and change the title - 45 million copies.
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@Hector
You mean dark, not far; as we learned from the article, "the far side is not dark all of the time."
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Just a thought, but perhaps the Chinese chose the far side because they can claim success and no one could prove them wrong. Right down XI'alley.
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@TED338
Perhaps one of the satellites NASA has orbiting Mars could be turned to face the moon?
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@Still Waiting for a NBA Title
The photo at the top of this article demonstrates a satellite that is already monitoring the far side of the moon. It's the photo with the caption: "China hopes to send its Chang’e-4 lunar lander to the far side of the moon, shown here illuminated by the sun in an image captured by NASA’s Deep Space Climate Observatory satellite. Credit: NASA Goddard"
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@TED338 - You sound like Nixon in his famous debate with Kennedy - downplaying the competitors achievement.
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The far side of the moon is rarely explored because of the communication challenges. That's because radio waves to and from the moon operate line-of-site (using a direct path). American and European spacecraft on Mars have used transponder satellites for some time, but for the Chinese this mission seems to be a communications coup.
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What exactly is the "coup" aspect of this? The Chinese will be using a satellite that they already have in lunar orbit to relay communications.
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It does make one wonder why it hasn’t been done before.
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