China’s lunar rover makes history, touching down on the far side of the moon

[Chris]

The Chinese are the first to land there.

Here Are The First Images From China's Historic Landing On The Far Side Of The Moon

On Thursday, China's National Space Administration (CNSA) announced that it had successfully landed its Chang'e 4 space probe in the South Pole-Aitken Basin, the moon's largest impact crater. The landing marks a milestone moment in human history as it is the first time any country has touched down on the far side of the moon.

While we have images of the far side of the moon taken from space, the landing of Chang'e 4 has allowed us to capture the first up-close-and-personal images of the far side:



And here's another image taken while Chang'e 4 was in the midst of its descent:



Because of the moon's rotation, the far side of the moon — or "the dark side of the moon," as it is sometimes erroneously called — is a hemisphere that we never see from earth. According to NPR, the far side of the moon contains "really ancient crust that dates back to the very, very early solar system" and is actually "much more primitive" than the near side....

[Captain Obvious]

http://thepoliticalforums.com/thread...edia-Announces

[nathanbforrest45]

What are they planing on building on the Dark Side? Robert Heinlein predicted this but he thought it would be Nazi's and not the Communist.

[nathanbforrest45]

Why would the Dark Side be much older than the visible side? Does that even make sense?

[nathanbforrest45]

Chairman Mao smiles down on his children.

https://www.npr.org/2019/01/03/68182...edia-announces

That's one giant leap for China.

China state television announced Thursday that China's Chang'e 4 lunar explorer, which launched in early December, "became the first ever probe to soft-land on the far side of the moon." The probe touched down at 10:26 Beijing time, the China Global Television Network said.

The landing "lifted the mysterious veil" from the far side, and "opened a new chapter in human lunar exploration," the broadcaster said, according to Reuters. (A soft landing is where a lander touches down as gently as possible; it is preferable to a hard landing.)

I thought the Far Side was a Gary Larsen cartoon strip.

[Captain Obvious]

Why would the Dark Side be much older than the visible side? Does that even make sense?

Time/space continuum, things more distant from an object (mass) are further off in the time continuum.

[Chris]

What are they planing on building on the Dark Side? Robert Heinlein predicted this but he thought it would be Nazi's and not the Communist.

It could just be pride of being first.

[The Xl]

Interesting. Kinda over the moon now though, let's get a body on Mars, that'll get my attention

[nathanbforrest45]

It could just be pride of being first.

Not really to give them the benefit of the doubt at this point.

[Peter1469]

Interesting. Kinda over the moon now though, let's get a body on Mars, that'll get my attention

The moon would be a good place to test new equipment, habitats and to gain experience since it is so close to earth.