Back at the ranch-China to map ‘every inch’ of Moon surface
Posted on Tuesday, 14 August, 2007 | 4:49 | Comments: 7
China aims to chart every inch of the moon’s surface, the chief scientist of the country’s first lunar exploration program said in comments published on Friday. China, which plans to launch a lunar orbiter called ”Chang’e One” in the second half of 2007 to take 3D images, would aim to land an unmanned vehicle on its surface by 2010, official news portal Chinanews.com quoted Ouyang Ziyuan as saying.“Currently, our country’s lunar exploration program is divided into three phases—orbiting the moon, landing on the moon and returning back to Earth,” Ouyang said. The second phase would see an unmanned craft land on the moon to “meticulously” survey a certain area, and the third phase would aim to “bring samples back to earth,” he added.China’s space exploration program has come far since late leader Mao Zedong lamented that China could not even launch a potato into space.
In 2003, it became only the third country after the former Soviet Union and the United States to launch a man into space aboard its own rocket. In October 2005, it sent two men into orbit and plans a space walk by 2008.But China’s space plans have faced increasing international scrutiny amid fears about a potential space arms race with the United States and other powers since it blew up one of its own weather satellites using a ground-based missile in January.
Now, on the other hand. Here is where our collective resources have not not any of us any justice.
Nasa has launched a spacecraft on a nine-month journey to Mars, where it will dig below the surface for clues to the existence of past or present life. The Phoenix probe lifted off at 0526 EDT (1026 BST) from Cape Canaveral, Florida, atop a Delta II rocket. If everything goes to plan, Phoenix should arrive at Mars in late May 2008. Phoenix was scheduled to launch on Friday, but severe weather conditions prevented fuelling of the rocket's second stage. This left little contingency time in the schedule, forcing Nasa officials to move the launch from Friday to Saturday. The US space agency wants to land the probe on relatively flat terrain at a Martian latitude equivalent to northern Alaska on Earth. On these northern plains, water ice is thought to lie just a few tens of centimetres below the surface, within reach of the lander's 2.4m (7.5ft) robotic arm.
Scientists estimate the ice content of the upper metre of soil in this region could be as high as 50-70%. The mission will aim to shed light not only on the history of this water ice but also on whether the region could support microbial life. Crucial to this question will be tests for complex, carbon-based chemicals (organics) in the soil and signs the ice periodically melts.
Why hasn't private enterprize thought of doing this?