china initiates lunar exploration program

[watermelony2k]

... starting today, by launcing the country's first probe to the moon. Next up: a rover and a sample return mission.

This is following on the heels of Japan, which has recently launched its own Kayagu moon probe. India's coming next.

 

[GodThingFormerly]

Perhaps they will finally be able to deliver high-quality images of Richard Hoagland's lunar city.

TGT

 

[watermelony2k]

"There's no damned U.S. flag up here!"

 

[JustAFriend]

...and an hour after they return, they'll just want to go back again...

 

[Argus Skyhawk]

It would be cool if one of these probes sent back photos of one of the Apollo landing sites. It would not convince all of the moon-landings-were-faked conspiracy theorists (many would claim that any new photos were faked as well--perhaps they would take it as proof that the Asian probes weren't really going to the moon either) but it would still be neat to see new pictures in high resolution.

 

[flux_29]

^ Totally high res' photos that can pick up the footprints.

 

[Noname Given]

Argus Skyhawk said:
It would be cool if one of these probes sent back photos of one of the Apollo landing sites. It would not convince all of the moon-landings-were-faked conspiracy theorists (many would claim that any new photos were faked as well--perhaps they would take it as proof that the Asian probes weren't really going to the moon either) but it would still be neat to see new pictures in high resolution.

IMO - All it would do is convince the 'Moon-landings were faked' conspiracy nuts that the U.S. paid Japan, China, <Whoever>, to just keep quiet about NOT aactually seeing anything at the sites; and that any photos showing Apollo hardware were digitally 'doctored' by the U.S. in an attempt to 'maintain the conspiracy'.

 

[Deimos Anomaly]

Hmm... if you had a big telescope in your back yard could you see the spacecraft catching the sun as it orbits the moon?