WAKE UP AMERICA! Time To Go To The Far Side Of The Moon

by Megan Beets

“All mankind has a commitment, an innate commitment, to create knowledge of the future… All mankind must subdue their passions to conform to what the future of mankind represents. The point is the understanding of the individual to reach and achieve ability of insight into what the future species must do: the improvement of the human species! Lifting the human species out of its ordinary existence, taking it out of its mediocrities.” —Lyndon LaRouche, September 13, 2016

Two years from now, China will accomplish something which has never been done by any nation, ever, and they will do it for the only reason it is ever done: for the future of all mankind. In late 2018, a lander and rover will descend from lunar orbit to a destination on the far side of the Moon.

Lyndon LaRouche has pointed to this commitment by China as one of the most important things occurring among mankind today. This is especially true in light of the fact that the entire trans-Atlantic system of geopolitics and its accompanying world of speculative finance has finally collapsed, giving us the opportunity to replace it with a new and just world system, based on new principles for the common aims of all.

But why the far side of the Moon? And what does this mean for mankind’s future?

A Hidden Visage

Our Moon rotates such that it always presents only one of its faces to the Earth. This is the hemisphere we call the near side. The other hemisphere, which is never visible from the Earth, is known as the far side, and was an object of mystery and speculation for almost the entirety of man’s existence. It wasn’t until the middle of the 20th century in 1959 that we got the first-ever photograph of the lunar far side, taken by the Soviet probe Luna 3. During the 1968 Apollo 8 mission, human eyes first glimpsed the Moon’s hidden hemisphere, and it was assumed that very soon humanity would walk on first the near, and then the far side.
But nearly 50 years later, neither human nor robotic foot has touched the far side, and we have not yet begun to unlock its mysteries.

Lunar Asymmetry

The lunar far side is a very different place than the side which faces the Earth, and we do not know why. What we do know, however, is that the Moon is not simply an object in nearby space; it is humanity’s first step off of Earth and into an extraterrestrial existence, and the asymmetry between the near and far sides will provide a crucial window into the unseen and yet-unknown processes which govern and organize our Solar system.

Beginning with the visible differences between the Moon’s hemispheres, the dark patches, otherwise known as seas or maria, which cover much of the near side—and create the image of the Man in the Moon—are created by volcanic flood events. The far side is almost completely devoid of the signs of such volcanic activity, and the cause of this asymmetry is a total mystery. Additionally, the far side south pole region is dominated by one of the largest impact basins known in the Solar system, the South Pole–Aitken Basin, which may allow us to peer into the deepest layers of the Moon’s geography, perhaps even to the lunar mantle. What might this tell us about the Earth, the Sun, and the process which created our Solar system?

One of the most exciting features of the lunar far side is that it is a completely unique and unparalleled site for astronomical observations. Each time mankind has observed the sky in new wavelengths, and with more precise instrumentation, we have encountered complete shocks and surprises in the kinds of phenomena we observe in the heavens. To date, humanity has been able to observe the sky in all parts of the electromagnetic spectrum except for the very-low frequency (VLF) radio range (less than 30 MHz). Phenomena of the Solar system, galaxy, and galaxies beyond ours which appear in this range cannot whisper their secrets to those on Earth, because those frequencies are blocked by Earth’s atmosphere and the radio noise which permeates Earth’s space environment in which our satellites orbit. Placing a radio observatory on the lunar far side, shielded from Earth’s radio noise, will allow us to see the universe with VLF radio eyes for the first time, and may tell us of stellar and galactic processes that we currently cannot imagine.

Exactly those types of anomalies observed in the heavens provoked a powerful sense of wonder within the great genius Johannes Kepler, driving him to hypothesize new, previously unknown physical principles which give rise to the motion and organization of the Solar system. Opening up humanity’s access to encounter such anomalies and challenge our current beliefs, is precisely why China is taking these first steps today.

Fuel for Fusion Power

One more critical feature of China’s outlook for lunar exploration and development comes from its future-oriented commitment to mankind’s growth and progress, on Earth and beyond.

It has been known for decades that the Moon is rich and abundant with the most advanced power source available to mankind: nuclear fusion, which is 10 million times more energy dense than fossil fuels. This fuel, Helium-3, can yield fusion reactions with higher energies than any other fusion fuel available, and yields unique products, e.g charged particles, which make it ideal for both electricity generation and rocket propulsion.

Helium-3 is a gift of the Sun and is distributed by the solar wind. It is extremely rare on Earth, since our magnetosphere and atmosphere block the solar wind from reaching the surface. However, the Sun has been depositing this powerful resource on the Moon’s surface for billions of years, where it sits, loosely held in the lunar soil, waiting to be harvested.

It is estimated that there is over 1 million tons of Helium-3 on the Moon. As put by Ouyang Ziyuan, father of the Chinese Lunar Program, “When obtaining nuclear power from helium-3 becomes a reality, the lunar resources can be used to generate electricity for more than 10,000 years for the whole world.”

Though mankind has not yet fully mastered the principles of nuclear fusion, we will. Our Moon will prove to be a critical power source for our continuing ability to develop and expand out into the Solar system—a scientific advancement to which China is already committed.

The First Steps

China’s 2018 Chang’e 4 mission will consist of three components: a relay satellite, a lander, and a rover. The satellite will be sent into its position first, stationed at a point behind the Moon (Lagrange Point 2) where both the far side surface and the Earth are visible, in order to relay communications from one to the other. The satellite will also monitor impacts on the lunar surface.

Once the satellite is in place, the Chang’e 4 lander, with its rover in tow, will be sent into a near-polar orbit around the Moon, and will descend to a landing site in the South Pole–Aitken Basin region. Here, the lander and rover will study the lunar soil and minerals of the far side—which has never been done—, analyze the radiation environment with an eye toward future manned landings, detect interaction between the sparse lunar atmosphere and the Solar and Earth plasma winds, and very importantly, they will make mankind’s very first VLF radio observations of the heavens.

Further underscoring the fact that this mission is one of international cooperation and progress for all mankind, instruments on the lander and rover are not all Chinese-made, but have been contributed by several nations. Even more to the point, China has offered use of its relay satellite—an indispensible piece of infrastructure—to any other nation planning operations on the far side.

Homo Extraterrestris: Finding Ourselves in Space

Unlike all animals, mankind does not evolve and develop automatically along with the biosphere. We advance by the voluntary creative interventions of the individuals who overthrow the beliefs of the past. The insight of genius towards newly discovered principles redefines mankind’s relationship with the world, and gives our species a higher power to cause change in, and give new organization to, the universe-at-large, e.g. our power over the atomic nucleus, and our soon-to-be power over the lunar far side.

This view of man is exemplified in China’s maiden voyage to the lunar far side which will be undertaken in just two short years. It is one which will open up a new era and create a new future for mankind, one in which the United States must contribute. It is time for Americans to break free from the malaise of the past decades, especially since the murder of President Kennedy, and reawaken the naturally human sense of wonder and dedication to the progress of the human species, a dedication which once characterized the very heart and soul of our nation. It is this United States which will join China in the creation of a new, previously impossible future for an even more powerful mankind.