{"id":11836,"date":"2024-05-21T22:00:00","date_gmt":"2024-05-21T22:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/modernsciences.org\/staging\/4414\/?p=11836"},"modified":"2024-05-17T05:29:59","modified_gmt":"2024-05-17T05:29:59","slug":"chinas-new-moon-mission-is-about-to-launch-and-its-a-rare-example-of-countries-working-together","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/modernsciences.org\/staging\/4414\/chinas-new-moon-mission-is-about-to-launch-and-its-a-rare-example-of-countries-working-together\/","title":{"rendered":"China\u2019s new Moon mission is about to launch, and it\u2019s a rare example of countries working together"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
\n
\n \n
\n \n Bruno Scramgnon\/Pexels<\/a><\/span>\n <\/figcaption>\n <\/figure>\n\n Richard de Grijs<\/a>, Macquarie University<\/a><\/em><\/span>\n\n

All systems are \u201cgo\u201d for tonight\u2019s launch of China\u2019s next step in a carefully planned lunar exploration program. Placed on top of a powerful Long March 5 rocket, the Chang’e 6 mission is due to lift off<\/a> from the Wenchang Space Launch Site on southern Hainan Island at 7:30pm AEST.<\/p>\n\n

It aims to deliver several \u201cfirsts\u201d in the increasingly crowded and competitive<\/a> arena of Moon exploration.<\/p>\n\n

Chang’e 6 will be only the second mission to land on the lunar far side, after Chang’e 4<\/a> successfully touched down first in 2019.<\/p>\n\n

It\u2019s the latest mission in China\u2019s successful and long-running lunar exploration program, aimed at proving new technological advances<\/a> with each mission. And this time, it\u2019s also an inspiring feat of international collaboration.<\/p>\n\n

<\/p>\n\n

What\u2019s on the far side of the Moon?<\/h2>\n\n

The spacecraft was originally built as a backup for the previous mission \u2013 Chang’e 5 \u2013 which successfully brought back 1.73 kilograms<\/a> of lunar regolith (soil) from the Moon\u2019s near side in 2020.<\/p>\n\n

However, the Chang’e 6 mission parameters are more ambitious and scientifically more highly anticipated. It is also a complicated mission<\/a>. Its four separate spacecraft must work in close coordination to successfully return up to 2kg of regolith from the Moon\u2019s far side. <\/p>\n\n

From our vantage point on Earth, the Moon\u2019s far side is never visible. The Earth-Moon system is tidally locked: even though both rotate, we always face the same half of the Moon.<\/p>\n\n

When the Soviet Union\u2019s Luna 3<\/a> probe returned the first images of the Moon\u2019s far side in 1959, they showed a heavily cratered surface. It\u2019s quite different from that of the familiar near side.<\/p>\n\n

\n \"A<\/a>\n
\n The first view returned by Luna 3 showing the far side of the Moon looks quite different from what we usually see.<\/span>\n NSSDC<\/a><\/span>\n <\/figcaption>\n <\/figure>\n\n

This pockmarked appearance, combined with samples returned by NASA\u2019s Apollo missions, offered some support for the popular \u201cLate Heavy Bombardment<\/a>\u201d theory. Although this theory is not universally accepted<\/a>, its proponents suggest that large numbers of meteorites and asteroids may have impacted the Solar System\u2019s rocky planets (and their moons) at an early stage of their formation.<\/p>\n\n

Chang’e 6 aims to collect samples from the oldest lunar impact crater, the South Pole-Aitken basin. Many recent missions to the Moon have targeted the lunar south polar region. This was, in part, driven by the discovery of water ice<\/a> in the area\u2019s dark craters and its potential exploitation for future lunar bases. <\/p>\n\n

With this imminent sample return, we are now getting tantalisingly close to learning what the lunar far side is made of and its age. It would provide more detail than ever before. This could help us really understand the early history of the Solar System and whether the Late Heavy Bombardment theory needs a rethink.<\/p>\n\n

Science without borders<\/h2>\n\n

Any specimens retrieved will be shared with the international community for in-depth analysis, just like the Chang’e 5 samples<\/a> and data<\/a> from China\u2019s other space science missions \u2013 including its recent high-resolution Moon atlas<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n

In the current era of increased geopolitical tensions<\/a>, the Chang’e 6 mission is a rare example of constructive international collaboration. The probe carries instruments contributed by France, Italy, Pakistan and Sweden. The Swedish payload<\/a> was developed with funding from the European Space Agency (ESA). <\/p>\n\n

This may seem surprising given the current state of world affairs. But ESA and the Chinese Academy of Sciences share a history of joint space missions<\/a>, although relations have withered somewhat in recent years.<\/p>\n\n

A refreshing development<\/h2>\n\n

From a scientific perspective, Chang’e 6\u2019s international engagement is a refreshing development. Scientists are driven by universal principles underpinning the scientific approach. We place great value on collaborative efforts, irrespective of one\u2019s national origin. Science doesn\u2019t know borders.<\/p>\n\n

With space missions being just one example, Chinese scientists are rapidly gaining ground and increasingly leading global scientific achievements<\/a>. Chinese prowess in science and technology has now reached levels that can no longer be ignored by international collaborators and competitors alike.<\/p>\n\n

Yet real-world constraints<\/a> in an increasingly geopolitically fraught environment do affect our work as scientists, influencing what can be shared between colleagues internationally, and must be factored into our practical decision making.<\/p>\n\n

It\u2019s important to strike a careful balance between protecting national interests and the free flow of ideas that may ultimately lead to scientific breakthroughs.<\/p>\n\n

Not every scientific exchange reaches a level that warrants triggering national security or foreign interference alerts. To paraphrase the Australian government\u2019s foreign relations policy<\/a>, \u201ccollaborate where we can; exercise restraint where we must\u201d. The Change’6 mission is an excellent example of this kind of productive international partnership.\"The<\/p>\n\n

Richard de Grijs<\/a>, Professor of Astrophysics, Macquarie University<\/a><\/em><\/span><\/p>\n\n

This article is republished from The Conversation<\/a> under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article<\/a>.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Bruno Scramgnon\/Pexels Richard de Grijs, Macquarie University All systems are \u201cgo\u201d for tonight\u2019s launch of China\u2019s next step…\n","protected":false},"author":824,"featured_media":11873,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"nf_dc_page":"","fifu_image_url":"","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[15,14],"tags":[245,196,35,474],"class_list":{"0":"post-11836","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-engineering","8":"category-space","9":"tag-china","10":"tag-moon","11":"tag-space","12":"tag-the-conversation","13":"cs-entry","14":"cs-video-wrap"},"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/modernsciences.org\/staging\/4414\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11836","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/modernsciences.org\/staging\/4414\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/modernsciences.org\/staging\/4414\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/modernsciences.org\/staging\/4414\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/824"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/modernsciences.org\/staging\/4414\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=11836"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/modernsciences.org\/staging\/4414\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11836\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":11837,"href":"https:\/\/modernsciences.org\/staging\/4414\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11836\/revisions\/11837"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/modernsciences.org\/staging\/4414\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/11873"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/modernsciences.org\/staging\/4414\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=11836"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/modernsciences.org\/staging\/4414\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=11836"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/modernsciences.org\/staging\/4414\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=11836"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}