China's Jade Rabbit Sends Moon Pictures Home

[Karloff]

China's Jade Rabbit Sends Moon Pictures Home

The chief commander of China's lunar programme says the mission's been a complete success.

China's Jade Rabbit moon rover has landed, and its mission so far has been a "complete success," says Ma Xingrui, chief commander of China's lunar programme. This is the first unmanned rover to touch down on the moon in more than 40 years, and photographs of the historic moment have been released by China's Xinhua news network.

The Rabbit's named after a mythological creature, said to be living on the moon. In some legends it's depicted as the companion of immortal girl Chang-o, eternally grinding up the ingredients for the elixir of life in its mortar and pestle. The name was chosen in an online poll of more than 3.4 million voters.

The mission is meant to test new technologies, gather data and build up space mission experience, with a happy sideline in searching for exploitable resources. As engineer Sun Huixian puts it, "China's lunar programme is an important component of mankind's activities to explore [the] peaceful use of space."

It's not about competition, as the original space race was; it's about future development. China wants an advanced space programme, and it's willing to put the time and resources in to get one. It will take years, but China sees no need to rush. Perhaps in 2017 it will bring soil and rock samples back to Earth; perhaps in 2020 or so it will send a manned mission.

In time, perhaps something more, as China reaches for the moon, and the stars beyond.

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Source: BBC [http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-25393826]


Permalink

 

[Sir Thomas Sean Connery]

I don't mean to sound like a dick, but... Actually yes, I do mean to sound like a dick.

China, you're a tad behind. I guess it's better to get there 40 years late instead of never, but come on.

We know about the moon. We know what it's made of. We brought back a ton of pieces of the thing. The only thing you're going to discover is the golf ball we played with a half century ago.

On the other hand, it would be completely awesome if the Chinese bot was equipped with a spray can and the actual purpose of the entire mission was to draw dicks on the American flag and plaque. That would be too funny to not support.

 

[Muspelheim]

Glad to see someone's still got lofty space ambitions. Best of luck to them!

They certainly did better than I did. My homemade rocket barely made it out of the garden, let alone into orbit.

 

[joeman098]

I don't mean to sound like a dick, but... Actually yes, I do mean to sound like a dick.

China, you're a tad behind. I guess it's better to get there 40 years late instead of never, but come on.

We know about the moon. We know what it's made of. We brought back a ton of pieces of the thing. The only thing you're going to discover is the golf ball we played with a half century ago.

On the other hand, it would be completely awesome if the Chinese bot was equipped with a spray can and the actual purpose of the entire mission was to draw dicks on the American flag and plaque. That would be too funny to not support.

You mostly incorrect good sir, while yes we did do it in the 70s we also haven't been back on the surface since. So their craft is carrying science instruments from 2013 and not 1970, there could always be more to learn. And since Chinas space program isn't as robust as NASA and the ESA, landing on the moon is a great milestone towards their goal of putting a man on the moon and such.


I havnt looked at where it landed i relation to the Apollo 11 site But It would be amazing to get a picture of the landing site after all these years. my money is on the flag just being a flagpole and the flag its self has disintegrated, that or its just white.

But I am happy with just anyone doing anything in space hopefully we can get another space race going because space exploration is the only thing worth spending time on IMO

 

[RA92]

We know about the moon. We know what it's made of.

Dear Sir, we didn't even know that the moon had water on its surface till 2009. Don't be quite so dismissive yet.

 

[Coakle]

China sent a probe to the moon? Why am I just learning about this now? You're pretty cool China.

 

[Me55enger]

The stagnation of the West symbolised by the pioneering spirit of the East.

 

[Slash2x]

I don't mean to sound like a dick, but... Actually yes, I do mean to sound like a dick.

China, you're a tad behind. I guess it's better to get there 40 years late instead of never, but come on.

We know about the moon. We know what it's made of. We brought back a ton of pieces of the thing. The only thing you're going to discover is the golf ball we played with a half century ago.

On the other hand, it would be completely awesome if the Chinese bot was equipped with a spray can and the actual purpose of the entire mission was to draw dicks on the American flag and plaque. That would be too funny to not support.

If they find our stuff there 0.o I can already hear the engines of rumor and double talk... Did we really go there? What if China says we did not or what if they say we did?? Are they telling the truth or is it all some political shell game? Are they going to build WMD's on the moon?

 

[shadowstriker86]

The stagnation of the West symbolised by the pioneering spirit of the East.

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ THIS! Seriously i hate the fact that i live in a country where we were waving around our dicks saying "ya we got to the moon!" then decided oop, that's it then! So damn happy someone else got to the moon, can't wait to see what else comes from this

 

[Sir Thomas Sean Connery]

selfsnip

You mostly incorrect good sir, while yes we did do it in the 70s we also haven't been back on the surface since. So their craft is carrying science instruments from 2013 and not 1970, there could always be more to learn. And since Chinas space program isn't as robust as NASA and the ESA, landing on the moon is a great milestone towards their goal of putting a man on the moon and such.


I havnt looked at where it landed i relation to the Apollo 11 site But It would be amazing to get a picture of the landing site after all these years. my money is on the flag just being a flagpole and the flag its self has disintegrated, that or its just white.

But I am happy with just anyone doing anything in space hopefully we can get another space race going because space exploration is the only thing worth spending time on IMO

We know about the moon. We know what it's made of.

Dear Sir, we didn't even know that the moon had water on its surface till 2009. Don't be quite so dismissive yet.

The idea of new science instruments is decent one. Still, it's hard to imagine there's anything too surprising on the moon.

To be honest, I think I'm mostly just bitter that the US and those that supported it have pulled so much from the funding of space programs. If we had pursued space with any kind of real drive, we could have had people on Mars by now. Instead, the Chinese have to take over and essentially start from scratch.

Better late than never I suppose, but it doesn't make me any less irritated with the "late" aspect.

I'm waiting for all the conspiracy theory nuts to show up and claim the Chinese faked this landing on a sound stage in Beijing because there are no stars in the lunar sky in the first picture they released...

I don't mean to sound like a dick, but... Actually yes, I do mean to sound like a dick.

...On the other hand, it would be completely awesome if the Chinese bot was equipped with a spray can and the actual purpose of the entire mission was to draw dicks on the American flag and plaque. That would be too funny to not support.

So you think it would be funny to deface the markers of the greatest achievement in the history of mankind? Since you called yourself a dick already, the moderators that censor this board can't possibly get pissy with me for confirming that, yes, you are dick. Good luck in life, kid.

Wouldn't that just be the hilariously perfect irony of humanity?

One of our greatest achievements and it's trampled by other humans out of spite. A shrine to the spirit of competition and the human race.

On a side note, I'm fairly sure the mods are less likely to be cross with you for saying I'm a dick and more likely for saying that they "censor this board"

selfsnip

Are they going to build WMD's on the moon?

My money is on a giant moonbase equipped with a huge laser death cannon.

 

[martyrdrebel27]

Someone stop them before they build a wall on that damn thing!

Seriously, did you know that the Even Better Wall of China is the only human object on the surface of the moon that you can see with the naked eye from Earth?

Fact.

 

[DSK-]

I don't mean to sound like a dick, but... Actually yes, I do mean to sound like a dick.

China, you're a tad behind. I guess it's better to get there 40 years late instead of never, but come on.

We know about the moon. We know what it's made of. We brought back a ton of pieces of the thing. The only thing you're going to discover is the golf ball we played with a half century ago.

On the other hand, it would be completely awesome if the Chinese bot was equipped with a spray can and the actual purpose of the entire mission was to draw dicks on the American flag and plaque. That would be too funny to not support.

You mostly incorrect good sir, while yes we did do it in the 70s we also haven't been back on the surface since. So their craft is carrying science instruments from 2013 and not 1970, there could always be more to learn. And since Chinas space program isn't as robust as NASA and the ESA, landing on the moon is a great milestone towards their goal of putting a man on the moon and such.


I havnt looked at where it landed i relation to the Apollo 11 site But It would be amazing to get a picture of the landing site after all these years. my money is on the flag just being a flagpole and the flag its self has disintegrated, that or its just white.

But I am happy with just anyone doing anything in space hopefully we can get another space race going because space exploration is the only thing worth spending time on IMO

Here you go:

Images taken from the Lunar Recon Orbiter.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lunar_Reconnaissance_Orbiter#Gallery