IT’S for the first time; China has successfully landed a spacecraft on the far side of the Moon. They have touched the other side of the Moon -what is usually called as ‘dark side of the Moon’ that perpetually faces away from the Earth. The probe, named Chang’e 4, launched from southwest China in early December and landed on Wednesday in the Moon’s South Pole-Aitken Basin. A rover on the landing craft dispatched the first photo of the Moon’s surface from its far side back to Earth via a satellite communication relay.
We know, the Apollo-11 was the first spaceflight that landed on the Moon on July 20, 1969 with two American astronauts; Commander Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin. Besides, Michael Collins piloted the command module Columbia alone in lunar orbit while they were on the Moon’s surface. Armstrong became the first person to step onto the lunar surface. But that was the bright side of the Moon.
What’s significant is that, the Moon is known as a goddess in Chinese mythology. Not only that, China is also a latecomer by decades to space exploration. But the modern China has taken a series of missions that underscore the country’s ambitions to join the space race to conquer the outer space like US and Russia. China had landed another rover on the Moon (bright side) in 2013, joining the US and Russia as the only nations to have carried out a “soft landing” there.
Professor at the Macau University of Science and Technology Zhu Menghua, who has worked closely with the Chinese Space Agency, said: “We Chinese people have done something that the Americans have not dared try.” No doubt, the mission has opened a new chapter in humanity’s exploration of the Moon. It also proves, the nation has reached the advanced world-class level in deep space exploration. Scientists think that the surrounding basin of Moon may be rich in minerals. If exploiting the Moon’s resources is the next step in space development, a successful mission could leave the Chinese better positioned.
We think, the nations who are not able to conduct such expensive and highly-sophisticated space mission should get some benefits by sharing the knowledge. The outcome of outer space missions and the technological achievement should be used for benefitting the mankind.
