China successfully soft-lands probe on the moonGovernment funded probe. Looking forward to when the Moon Express lander gets there in 2015 - private enterprise, not government. Capitalism rules! Posted by DaveH at December 14, 2013 11:31 AM
China on Saturday successfully carried out the world's first soft landing of a space probe on the moon in nearly four decades, state media said, the next stage in an ambitious space program that aims to eventually put a Chinese astronaut on the moon.
The unmanned Chang'e 3 lander, named after a mythical Chinese goddess of the moon, touched down on Earth's nearest neighbor following a 12-minute landing process.
The probe carried a six-wheeled moon rover called "Yutu," or "Jade Rabbit," the goddess' pet. After landing Saturday evening on a fairly flat, Earth-facing part of the moon, the rover was slated to separate from the Chang'e eight hours later and embark on a three-month scientific exploration.
China's space program is an enormous source of pride for the country, the third to carry out a lunar soft landing - which does not damage the craft and the equipment it carries - after the United States and the former Soviet Union. The last one was by the Soviet Union in 1976.
I wonder what Capitalism will say when China announces "The moon is red" and claims it for China.
Posted by: claritas at December 15, 2013 4:28 PM