China’s Space Program: A Treasure for Mankind

by Megan Beets

“[Chang’e-4 is] a breakthrough in human history.” —Ouyang Ziyuan, Founder of the Chinese Lunar Program

Now more than ever, the people of the United States are ready for a universal change—ready to soundly reject the failed and deadly policies of the past two presidents, and to crush the Wall Street swindlers who have literally gotten away with murder.

It is urgent that U.S. citizens demand a return to the valid notion of economic value advanced by two of the greatest geniuses in history: Lyndon LaRouche and Alexander Hamilton. As found in their respective writings, the only true standard of economic value is whether or not an activity within the economy contributes to an increasing development of the applied creative powers of the minds of the population, for which that economy exists.

The leading expression of that principle today is not found in the U.S. or Europe, but rather in China, as they commit their rapidly-progressing space program to breaking the boundaries of planet Earth, and moving mankind to the far side of the Moon. They have invited the U.S., and all nations, to join them.

China’s Extraterrestrial Commitment

In 2018, a Chinese lander will touch down on the far side of the Moon—a place that has never seen the presence of mankind, either human or robotic. The lander will deploy a small rover to explore the landing site, one of the largest impact craters in the solar system, and together with the rover and a relay satellite “parked” in orbit behind the Moon, will take the very first pictures of our universe in the very-low-frequency radio range. This lunar far side mission, Chang’e-4, will change mankind forever, as it opens the potential to fully unlock the Moon’s secrets, and to take the preliminary steps to establish mankind as a polyglobal species.

Over the next two years, leading up to that great achievement, China plans an ambitious series of missions, some of which are already underway.

In 2017, the Chang’e-5 lander will be the first spacecraft since 1976 to travel to the Moon and return, bringing lunar samples back to Earth. Ouyang Ziyuan, father of the Chinese lunar program, assured that “We are ready. Every lab is ready [to receive the samples]. Once the samples are back, we can begin our analysis right away.” In 2018, China will put the first components of their full-size space station into orbit (with completed construction expected in 2022).

Three important precursors to these missions were launched earlier this autumn.

On September 15, the Tiangong-2 space lab was put into orbit around Earth. One month later, Tiangong-2 was joined by the Shenzhou-11 spacecraft, China’s sixth manned mission, which carried two taikonauts and is currently docked with the space lab for a 30-day stay in space—the longest yet of any Chinese crew.

On November 3, the launchpad at the recently-completed Wenchang Launch Center roared to life as China carried out the first test launch of the heavy-lift Long March 5 rocket. The successful launch of the Long March 5 was a crucial step in the success of upcoming missions, which require the Long March 5’s larger capacity.

Other missions on the horizon are a lander and rover on Mars, slated for 2020, an orbiter around Venus for the mid-2020s, and a clear trajectory toward manned missions to the Moon, once the success of the robotic missions is secured.

New Silk Road into Space

China has extended the “win-win” principle of the New Silk Road beyond cooperation on Earth alone, inviting all UN member countries to participate in China’s space station. “Space exploration is the common dream and wish of humankind. We believe that the implementation of the agreements will definitely promote international cooperation on space exploration, and create opportunities for United Nations Member States, particularly developing countries, to take part in, and benefit from, the utilization of China’s space station,” said General Wu Ping, Deputy Director of the China Manned Space Agency.

China has also invited all other nations to make use of the communications relay satellite that will be launched as part of the Chang’e-4 far side mission, “for supporting future manned and unmanned lunar exploration missions to the far side, and cis-lunar activities.”

Other nations are eager for the cooperation! The European Space Agency, for example, is having its astronauts study Chinese, and European nations have provided four of the instruments on the Chang’e-4 far side mission. Also significant in this regard is the first meeting, held November 2, of representatives from the space agencies of the five BRICS nations. This begins a process of integrating and coordinating the assets and capabilities of these countries for space exploration.

Several of the nations involved in the burgeoning new paradigm in Eurasia have missions to the Moon planned for the next five years, including India, Russia, Japan, and Korea, all of which express an excitement for the progress of their own nations, and for mankind as a whole, toward a new capability of humanity in space.

A New, Human Standard

As we in the United States experienced during the 1960s, the space program is the driver for advancements in the capabilities of mankind beyond what would be possible as merely a resident of Earth. The space program not only drove advancements in technologies, but it set an intellectual and moral standard within the nation. It pushed the boundaries of our limitations into realms which were never thought of before. It began to remake man as a more powerful species than ever before. A reflection of this is the upward leaps in economic productivity which resulted from the introduction of completely new kinds of technologies and materials into industrial and other processes.

However, this was not something particular to this time in the U.S. It is always the advancement of the creative human mind beyond what we knew or could have known in the past which drives our progress as a species, and hence, the economy. Today, China, with their space program, is leading the rest of the world in opening the door, once again, for great achievements of this nature. It is high time for the people of the United States to return to our principles, and join China—to dump the system of Obama and Wall St., and to revive our space program as the leading driver of economic progress today.