'Sputniked' again! China plans moon landing for 2017

China's space program has been getting the page-16 treatment from the U.S. press, even after they've put people into space. But, do Google news searches on "China" AND "moon" and you're going to get a lot of hits, like this article:

China eyes 2017 moon landing





That reference to "the perfect source of fuel" refers to helium-3. Read on, gentle readers:





Kids, the "Republican War on Science" couldn't come at a worse time for our nation. When we saw ourselves as being in a race with the Soviets, we started paying attention to the state of our space program, American science in general, and especially, science education. Now, the Bush mal-administration is cutting non-military scientific research across the board, and the "Intelligent Design" movement is out to destroy real science in American schools, right up to the college level.

The ID people are finally letting their real agenda slip out: Introducing a "new scientific paradigm," basically faith-based science, to replace science's traditional reliance on naturalistic explanations and a scientific method based on observation and experiment.

While I'm at it, I may as well add that I'm not highly impressed by **'s "Moon-Mars Initiative." I don't think it's going to get off the ground - literally and figuratively.

There are so many issues involved here: consider the possiblity of China (along with Russian and India) controlling the major fuel source of the 21st Century. There's another possible energy source from space, the solar power satellite (do Google searches on "solar power satellite" and "space solar power"); a couple of years ago, I saw an op-ed piece suggesting that, it would be the "3rd world" that would develop this, led by China.

Space isn't the only area where China is seeking dominance. I Googled up this link from the India Daily website: India and China work towards dominance in Nanotechnology – it is the next outsourcing wave I've been hearing about China's interest in Nanotechnology for some time now; they're already major actors in the field. Here's a comment from the CRNano blog:

You see, Christofascists, this is why we don't give you any slack. We have our children's future and our nation's legacy to think of.

i'll believe it when i see it

anyone can say they are going to do anything 12 yrs from now, it's a no-lose situation, if they don't do it, no one remembers the boast

still waiting for my jet pack

Here are some more links:

Russia To Assist China's Lunar Research Program

China's Taikonauts Fulfil Tsien's Vision

Ambitious Chinese Program Could Trigger Asian Space Race

...but this is important, and I hit the "post" button before I added the important quotes.

For the China's Taikonauts Fulfil Tsien's Vision link:







For the Ambitious Chinese Program Could Trigger Asian Space Race link:









This needs to be an issue, akin to the Sputnik issue of the '50s.

I believe this is unprecedented in world history, and for the rest of the world, it is a real threat. Our leaders are competing against analytical skills beyond even their vaguest understanding. And our leaders are completely unarmed.

...if we failed to reach the moon in 1969? I tend to think otherwise.

the Chinese will invent disco and give up the joys of engineering for sideburns, astrology and cocaine snorting?

I know a Regime that will soon be looking for a place to live where people don't hate them.

they be the FIRST to arrive!

we'd have already returned and built a pipeline.

thanks to the "american sellout gop".

first, they ship our technology, then our jobs, and now our defense to china -- to save a buck while losing our national security.

until he opened his pie-hole about FINALLY FREAKIN getting the Space Program to move forward. Great, you moron. The only thing you've ever said that I agree with and you did it to cover your own ass--AND thanks to that having come out of YOUR MOUTH nobody's going to want to touch it for the next five-ten years at least. Thanks loads.

NASA was in desperate need of retooling anyway, but now that Bush has got his slime all over it, any conversation about getting back to the moon and actually finishing what Apollo started always gets mixed in with Bush hatred. People have a hard time evaluating it on its merits.

I know where at least one of the German rocketeers used to live. I'll go see if I can find the plans for the Saturn 5 Rocket in his attic. We can wheel out Neil Armstrong.... to screw up the 1st words said on the moon AGAIN and...... It'll be just like old times.

America's post-war economic prosperity came from technological skill, especially in electronics, computers, aerospace, and Internet.

But what's next? The Bush administration supervised the outsourcing of our technical jobs, blocked stem cell research, gave no support to anything but the least promising lines of energy research, and pushed towards defunding Hubble to pay for a ridiculuous Man on Mars mission.

Plus suppressing science in the name of politics and pushing Creationism into the schools.

Grim.

But it was interesting how I responded strongly to your "Sputnikked" headline. I remember Sputnik, and there was a national sense of determination in my generation of 12-16 years olds. Maybe we can get that kind of energization into a post-Bush repair-America strategy.

You've hit on the real issue: linking our (fading) leadership in science and technology to our (rapidly waning) prosperity!

For the last decade, I've been thinking we we've been plodding down the road to ruin.

Right now they are essentially in the "Mercury" stage of this space program. We went from Mercury to a moon landing in less than 10 years.

And we had to solve EVERYTHING in that time, including figuring out the best way amongst hundreds of suggestions on the best methods

This gives China 12 years and everything been solved once. The path while not well beaten has already been laid. China "simply" has to build the the equipment, train the men and follow our very well documented path.

Im glad China is doing it. Maybe we'll get back off our asses and back into space again (instead of low earth orbit where we have been for 30 years)

K&N
this is more important than many people realize

There were some early Americans plans for this, fortunately there were cooler heads during the cold war on both sides. America was too involved in Vietnam and the Russian heavy lift rockets kept blowing up.

China, that does not have a war of agression to worry about, could size the high ground and win by default. America may own the night, the seas, the air, and Earth orbit. Owning the moon high ground trumps all of that. Gee whiz wouldn't a new cold war be fun especiallly with the Communist country that effectively owns your debt? Thank you Republicans.