Chang'e-6 bags precious lunar sample in Earth-returning vehicle, US alone in 'space race' narrative: observers

 

China spacecraft Chang'e-6 first to collect samples from far side of the moon - BBC News

A picture of the Chang'e-6 lunar probe's lander and ascender vehicles on the surface of far side of moon taken by a mobile camera on June 3, 2024 Photo: Courtesy of the CNSA

Two days after lifting off from the moon's surface, the ascender of China's Chang'e-6 lunar probe completed a rendezvous and docking with the orbiter-returner combination, delivering the world's first lunar samples collected from the far side of the moon to the Earth-returning vehicle on Thursday afternoon.

The Global Times learned from the China National Space Administration (CNSA) on Thursday that the rendezvous and docking took place at 2:48 pm Thursday and the safe transferring of lunar samples at 3:24 pm. This marks the second time China has achieved a lunar orbit rendezvous and docking, following Chang'e-5.

After its epic lift-off from the far side of the moon on Tuesday morning, the ascender of Chang'e-6, carrying the lunar samples, entered the lunar orbit and carried out four orbit adjustments, per the CNSA. 

When the ascender was about 50 kilometers ahead and 10 kilometers above the orbiter-returner combination, the orbiter andreturner combination used close-range autonomous control to gradually approach the ascender, completing the orbital rendezvous, according to mission insiders. 

The orbiter's three sets of K-shaped grappling claws aligned with the three connecting rods on the ascender's docking surface, securely connecting the two devices by tightening the claws, precisely completing the docking. 

After that, the container holding the precious samples from the far side of the moon was safely transferred from the ascender to the returner.

The Chang'e 6 orbiter and returner combination will next separate from the ascender and enter a lunar orbit waiting phase, preparing for a lunar-to-Earth transfer orbit control at an opportune time, according to the mission plan. 

After undergoing key steps such as the lunar-to-Earth transfer and the separation of the orbiter and returner, the returner is scheduled to land with the lunar samples at the Siziwang Banner landing site in North China's Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region.

Open to cooperation with US

Chang'e-6 completed the world's first-ever mission of collecting samples from the far side of the moon and is on its way home. This is a historic step in humanity's peaceful use of space, Chinese Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Mao Ning said during a routine press conference on Thursday. 

When commenting on reports of NASA's congratulations on the latest leap in China's decades-long moon exploration, Mao told the Global Times on Thursday that China is always open toward space exchanges and cooperation with the US. 

The two sides established mechanisms such as the working group on Earth science and space science cooperation, and the China-US Civil Space Dialogue. At US request, the competent authorities of the two countries established a mechanism to exchange orbit data on each other's Mars probes to ensure long-term successful mission operation, according to the spokesperson.

There are, however, difficulties in China-US space cooperation at the moment, which are caused by US domestic legislation such as the Wolf Amendment that prevents normal exchanges and dialogue between Chinese and US space agencies, Mao said.

"If the US truly wants to push forward space exchanges and cooperation with China, it needs to take practical steps to remove these obstacles," Mao noted. 

The achievements of China's ongoing Chang'e-6 moon probe mission thus far have evidently become a source of anxiety for the US amid the Western media's fabricated hot saga of the US-China space race, Chinese space observers said on Thursday.

When covering the ascender of Chang'e-6's lift-off from moon surface, US media outlet CNN reported on Tuesday that the successful return of the samples would give China a head start in harnessing the strategic and scientific benefits of expanded lunar exploration - an increasingly competitive field that has contributed to what NASA chief Bill Nelson calls a new "space race."

When asked which country would be the first to have a base on the moon, Keith Cowing, former American rocket scientist and current editor of NASAWatch.com, bluntly said that it might be China. "We (the US) are trying to get there first… but we will land next to them (China), roll down our window and say 'Hi, y'all, where do you want us to park our big lander'."

During the same interview with DW, David Ariosto, an American journalist and founder of Space Watch Daily, said that China has the edge at this point, but that could change.

The anxiety and sour grapes mentality are quite evident on the US side, Li Haidong, a professor at the China Foreign Affairs University, told the Global Times on Thursday.

When handling ties with China, the US is desperate to hold an absolute edge over China in all spheres including the space domain to deal with China's rapid development. The obstacles are rooted in this mentality, Li noted. "Strategically, the US is also unwilling to be on an equal footing with China in space. This mind-set is deeply ingrained and traditional, making it difficult to change. This is also an important factor."

US media and the head of NASA have repeatedly tried to stir up the US-China space race narrative, aiming to increase investment in the space sector and accelerating technological progress and related activities in space, Chinese observers said. 

The US wants to create a scenario of mutual confrontation rather than cooperation, which has led to the so-called space race the US desires. However, at present, the conditions for such a race do not exist because China and other countries are not willing to participate. If only the US is invested in it, it can't be called a race. In the end, it becomes a one-sided effort by the US, they said. 

Source link 

RELATED ARTICLES

Developers disclose details of the Chang’e-6 cameraman on moon surface

The picture of Chang’e-6 lunar probe’s lander and ascender on the surface of the far side of moon ...

Chang'e-6 demonstrates 'international style': Global Times editorial

When "Chang'e" left the image of sharing the beauty of the moon thousands of miles apart to the ...

Related posts:

China makes history as it nails second landing on Moon’s far side

• 

  China makes history as it nails second landing on Moon’s far side

  Video: https://x.com/i/status/1797082273982132735 HISTORY MADE: Chang’e-6 lands on far side of the moon to collect unique ... https://youtu....

NASA chief’s hawkish remarks another pathetic attempt, exposes US own hegemony and colonial ambitions

Illustration: Liu Rui/GT m Illustration: Liu Rui/GT 

 

Chinese experts battered the latest round of attacks from NASA chief Bill Nelson, saying his smearing remarks against China's space development are yet another ridiculous and pathetic attempt to hype the "China threat" theory to get more funding, which only exposes the US' own hegemonic and colonial ambitions.

In an interview with POLITICO, Nelson said the race to the moon between the US and China is getting tighter and the next two years could determine who gains the upper hand.

He warned that Beijing could try to "dominate" the locations they step foot on the lunar surface or even try to "keep the US out," while citing the Nansha Islands as an "example" to prove his point. 

The remarks angered Chinese researchers and commentators who have repeatedly made clear that China's exploration of the moon is dedicated to the advancement of humanity. 

"Being a former astronaut himself, it is pathetic that he would play the trick of a thief crying 'stop thief,'" Song Zhongping, a space analyst and TV commentator, told the Global Times on Tuesday. 

It is an established fact written into the United Nations Outer Space Treaty and others that the moon does not belong to any country in the world, while the Nansha Islands are indisputably part of China's territory. Comparing these two shows that Nelson does not even understand international law or the Outer Space Treaty, Song noted.

Nelson's attempt in a way reflects the mentality that the US wants to colonize the moon and consolidate its own hegemony in space, analysts said, evident in the new space version of an "Enclosure Movement" of the Artemis program, which gathered "like-minded" partners such as Canada, Japan and Europe but excludes China and Russia. 

Nelson's remarks failed even to convince its own scholars. Victoria Samson, Washington director of the Secure World Foundation, said she is dubious about the "moon brawl," noting that China, like the US, is a party to the Outer Space Treaty, which bars nations from making territorial claims on any celestial body, including the moon, POLITICO reported.

It will be difficult for any nation to maintain a long-term human presence in deep space, she said, which makes the claims more unrealistic.

Nelson's remarks followed US congressional approval to fund NASA with $24.5 billion in fiscal 2023, about half a billion dollars less than US President Joe Biden had requested.

While still expressing "confidence" that the next moon mission could happen as planned to send a crew into the moon's orbit by 2024, he admitted that the agency is "under intense pressure" because it has been forced, as a cost-saving measure, to reuse all the avionics inside the Artemis I capsule for Artemis II.

Huang Zhicheng, a Chinese expert in aerospace science and technology, told the Global Times on Tuesday that NASA, with a lot on its plate including the operation of the International Space Station, the Artemis program and deep-space exploration projects, is hyping the "China threat" theory to get more money, as the just-concluded Space Launch System is already years behind schedule and billions of dollars over budget. 

There is still a huge gap in the budget and many problems to solve for the US' manned moon landing to succeed, Huang said. 

Specifically, Boeing that is undertaking the rocket launch tasks for the Artemis program has a chaotic management and it is hard to get the tasks done on time. For another thing, the moon lander being developed by SpaceX is yet to achieve its designated progress, and if the lander cannot be completed successfully this year, it may further delay the entire project, Huang noted. 

Publicly attacking China's space program has become routine for NASA in the past few months. In December, the NASA chief accused China of being "one of the very few nations" that would not be partners with the US and that it is being "very secretive" in terms of space programs. In September, Nelson accused China of lacking needed transparency over issues. In July, the NASA chief blatantly claimed that China is "trying to occupy the moon." In May, he said that China stole the US' space technology. 

"These accusations fired by NASA are unfounded and unjustified," Song said. "China has always had a cooperative and open attitude in the space sector." 

Source link

RELATED ARTICLES

 

NASA chief’s ‘cliché’ accusations against China ‘reflect lack of confidence and narrow mindset’

In an interview released Sunday, the US’ NASA chief once again smeared China's space missions and vowed to ...

Chinese space watchers wish best of luck to NASA’s asteroid crash mission, the first planetary defense endeavor

Chinese space watchers wished on Monday the best luck for NASA's upcoming ambitious Double Asteroid Redirection Test (DART) ...

Xi's book on governance philosophy gains acclaim overseas On November 19, 2022, during a visit to Thailand, Chinese President Xi Jinping presented the English version of the four-volume collection Xi Jinping: The Governance of China to Thai Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha. Prayut, who had previously rec

 

 Related posts:

Artemis I launch canceled amid NASA chief hyping ‘space race’, as China's top space contractor CASC reveals new launch vehicle able to send Chinese to Moon by around 2030

 

 

Chinese aerospace experts slam NASA's chief for 'ridiculous and outrageous' allegations of 'stealing' technology

Chinese aerospace experts on Thursday slammed NASA's Administrator Bill Nelson for his "ridiculous" and "outrageous" remarks after the senior official alleged that China is "good at stealing" American designs in a "space race."