Chang’e 4 Could Go Down in History as the “Game Changer”

On the 3rd of January 2019 at 02:26 UTC, China’s robotic lander, Chang’e 4, and rover, Yutu 2, successfully landed on the darkside of the moon, an area of the moon no human invention has ever gone to ever before. Is the Chang’e 4 the milestone of China’s great leap towards being number one?

There’s still a lot we don’t know about what there is to know about the moon. We know there are valuable metals there. Moonexpress back in 2016 became the first company to receive authorization under the requirements of the Outer Space Treaty to venture beyond Earth’s orbit and land on the Moon. The company aims to mine the moon for trillions of dollars, and according to an article from PBS, so is China.

The moon shows us only one side of its complete profile, an astronomical phenomenon called “Tidal Locking” where the rotation and orbit of a celestial body is synchronized. China has become the first nation ever to show the world an up close look of the other side of the moon, and as they did so, have shown another side of China, as well.

 

Chang’e, pronounced as Chang-Er, is the name of the goddess of the moon who was formerly a beautiful girl that floated to the moon, and was parted with her beloved husband, with only Yutu (Jade rabbit) as her companion. Every year, on the night when the moon orbits to its nearest proximity to earth, the bereft husband would set out his wife’s favorite foods, cake and fruits.

This juxtaposed naming of space missions between the US’s Apollo, and China’s Chang’e, on one side the representation of space as knowledge, prophecy, and youth to the other with the yearning of unification, and romanticization of reuniting with a bygone lover, a rejuvenation. It seems Xi is as serious about the Chinese great leap into space as Trump is serious about building that wall.

Furthermore than mining the moon or using the moon landing to stoke Chinese nationalism, the moon could be used as an outpost for further exploration farther into space. The moon has a much weaker gravitational pull that would be much more conducive for space vessels leaving its orbit for voyages to the outer rims of our solar system. Besides, going to the darkside of the moon gives your nation bragging rights to show off some really stellar pics.