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Not long after China’s Chang’e-5 lunar sampler was launched into space, an official working on the Chinese space program again mentioned the plan for a research base on the moon.
“Chang’e-6, 7 and 8 will be gradually realized,” said Xu Hongliang, general secretary of the China National Space Administration (CNSA), the Chinese equivalent of NASA.
“An international lunar research base is also planned,” he added.
The Chang’e-5 sample return vehicle launch on November 24, 2020. / CFP
The Chang’e-5 sample return vehicle launch on November 24, 2020. / CFP
It is very likely that a moon base hosts the first humans living on the surface of a sphere other than planet Earth, which can make history.
When will we see it happen? In 10 years, maybe.
Zhang Kejian, CNSA chief who arrived at the 2019 version of the TIME 100 list, told media in 2019 that the moon base will be completed in “about 10 years.”
China is already making progress with “Yuegong-1”, an autonomous laboratory that can help humans survive on the moon. The first experiments in 2017 and 2018 showed that volunteers can survive a year in the laboratory.
A total of 97 percent of the lab is self-contained. This means that China only has to send three percent of material to the moon each year to keep the lab running all the time.
Volunteers living in the prototype of the Yuegong-1 moon base. / CFP
Volunteers living in the prototype of the Yuegong-1 moon base. / CFP
More importantly, it will be a China-led international project that will involve other space powers in the world such as Russia and Europe.
“It will probably be located at the southern end of the moon,” Wu Weiren, the chief designer of the Chinese lunar project “It will be used for peace purposes only and will benefit all parties involved.”
Russia has already turned down US invitations to build a lunar laboratory together and has instead chosen China as a partner. And Europe is also paying close attention to China’s lunar project, looking for opportunities for cooperation.
The United States may not be lucky this time around as it has stalled from all Chinese space programs since 2011.
Possible weapon?
For science fiction fans, this might remind them of the Netflix TV comedy series “Space Force,” which depicts a fictional fight between the Chinese and US moon crew that destroyed both nations’ moon base.
Although the comedy made space warfare fun, the reality is that a moon base could be used as a weapon.
“We Chinese are against space warfare,” said Ouyang Zhiyuan, chief scientist of the Chinese lunar project. “But that won’t stop others from using the moon in wars.”
Controlling the high ground can be useful for soldiers. That’s why people capture mountain peaks and build castles during battles. In modern warfare, aircraft and satellites are often used to provide a height advantage.
The highest place humans have ever reached is the moon.
“Every space power says they want to build research facilities on the moon,” Ouyang told Global People, “but that’s just an excuse. What they really want is to occupy the earth on the moon.”
Ouyang described the possibility of installing fast weapons on the moon. Such a weapon can hit a target on Earth in less than two seconds.
“And you can’t destroy the weapon because it’s too far away,” he added.
Infinite energy?
The moon can help humans destroy ourselves, but it can also help us survive longer in the universe.
The moon has no atmosphere, so there is hardly anything blocking the sunlight. This makes the moon a great place to build solar power plants, perhaps better than anywhere else on Earth.
Furthermore, the moon can help us build an “infinite” energy source: the artificial sun.
The international artificial sun project “ITER” begins assembly in France in July 2020. / CFP
The international artificial sun project “ITER” begins assembly in France in July 2020. / CFP
Modern science has revealed that most of the energy we use today comes from sunlight: coal and oil are basically deposits of ancient sunlight.
Scientists and engineers have been trying to build a smaller sun on Earth for decades. And helium-3 is a great fuel for that.
100 tons of helium-3 can generate the energy needed by all humans for a year. And there could be a million tons of helium-3 on the moon, which can help humans survive for another 10,000 years.
Building the artificial sun requires many stringent conditions, some of which can easily be met on the moon as the sphere has far less gravity than Earth.
Listen to Zou Yue from CGTN explaining why the “artificial sun” can change everything.
Imagine if we no longer needed oil. Many wars will become futile and we may enjoy one of the most peaceful times ever. Is not it fantastic?
And that’s why we should continue the lunar exploration effort. China’s International Lunar Laboratory could be a good start.
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